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Everyone deserves the opportunity to arrive at the same destination even if its different steps taken.

In everyday life, things are often set to be fair; however, the concept of fairness is much more in-depth than many realize. There is a huge difference between fairness and justice.

When life is fair, everyone is given the same; However, people are not all the same, therefore giving people equality will not bring everyone to the same destination. Some people need more, and some people need less.  That is the true meaning of justice.

In real life, many areas of the world struggle with giving everyone justice instead of making everything fair. One of the areas that struggles the most is schools. Many schools give everyone the same materials, the same amount of time to do things, and the same teaching methods. However, everyone learns differently, and that should be considered when everything is done the same; those who do well with the structure will continue to get good grades, those who don’t will struggle, and that can cause college transcripts to have a negative look, just because they needed extra help to be in the same area of success as everyone else.

Family life is another area where this idea can be seen. When parenting, parents often have lots of things on their plates and can tend to be very stressed, leading to treating each child almost the same to be fair. However, each child being their own person means they learn and succeed in different ways. Therefore, punishments, rewards, and privileges are gonna be different for each child to grow and become the best versions of themselves. That’s something parents should be aware of when it comes to parenting.

Similarly,  immigrants having an accessible way to get jobs shows the same idea of justice vs equality. When some immigrants come from other countries to America, it’s often due to poor treatment and lower living standards. Moving to America seems like a fresh start. However, when they have limited money, it becomes tough to get jobs and provide for their family. It can take years and a lot of money to get a degree for a job, which can often lead immigrants to getting illegal jobs to provide for themselves and their families. Nationwide, the hourly wages of immigrants are 12% lower than the hourly wages of American-born workers. In California, the wage gap is much larger, at 26 percent (Bohn). With struggles with affording a degree as well as getting paid less, immigrants have a hard life and are not given the proper resources for there to be justice.

Therefore, in life, when things seem unfair or biased, it can help you better yourself as well as others. So, don’t get frustrated without knowing the full story when someone has a more or a different scenario than you. For instance, a classmate having more time to take a test, or receiving a different punishment. Don’t think, “Oh, why do I not have that?” instead try to understand why and be empathetic and caring towards those people.

In the end, every person is different; no one is the same. Therefore, out in the world, each person is gonna need something different. It’s important to remember that being fair isn’t always about everyone having the same; it’s about being willing to give other people opportunities so they can get to the same destination. Be willing to share and care for others.