Favoritism: the inclination to favor some person or group.  Regardless of how much we try to be fair, we all tend to be slightly biased.  One humongous effect of favoritism is that it destroys relationships.  Once someone has been on the wrong side of favoritism, it is a burnt bridge. We have all experienced being preferred by a teache in the classroom, the office, the playing field, and especially at home.

Whether we have noticed it or not, instructors have liked some students over another since preschool.  Luckily at the start of my education I was definitely praised by my kindergarten teacher.  It took a turn for the worse the year after. Elementary school days are not really taken into consideration compared to our lives being engulfed in high school and the favortism gets worse. Then there is favoritism found in sports.  It’s miserable to go out there, pay your dues in blood and sweat, and then get stuck riding the pine the whole season. Even when you might get a chance for glory, there is a big chance you will get shot down. And the referees and coaches are sure to get you. It is so painstakingly frustrating to realize you might be one of the best, but stuck in second place over the person who might converse with the coach more than you.

I thought being out there for a sport was to practice and play hard, not talk about the weather? The referees are a different story. Favoritism even happens in sports at the college level. College basketball player Hasheem Thabeet scored twenty-five points, made twenty rebounds, and blocked nine opposing shots. Yes, the other team might not have put the best defense up, but the referees at the game called no fouls on the playmaker of the game. Connecticut University went home victorious, making Seton Hall look sloppy and not worth one of the top team’s time.

I would not say I completely despise favoritism, because I have to face it, it is everywhere, and everyone falls victim to it. Many of us have best friends, which would be considering one friend more valuable than another. We all tried to pick the more athletic schoolmates when creating dodge ball teams. Curbing our favoritism is the only thing we might be able to do, because no one can completely quit doing the appaling act.