During my first semester of college, there was a classmate who never spoke. Whenever the professor asked her a question, she remained completely silent. I couldn’t remember ever hearing her make a sound, and most of the class assumed she was simply refusing to participate.

One day, the professor lost his patience. Believing she was ignoring him on purpose, he became visibly frustrated and accused her of being disrespectful in front of everyone. Then he snapped, “Hey! Did no one teach you how to speak?”

Without saying a word, she calmly stood up, walked to the whiteboard, took the professor’s marker, and wrote a single sentence: “I am mute, you fool.”

The classroom fell completely silent. The professor’s face turned bright red as he realized his mistake, and the rest of us learned an unforgettable lesson: you should never assume you know someone’s story before judging them.