People change - it's not a fact, but a possibility if they want to. All the wrongs that have been seen and all the pain that has been have felt have made some people paranoid (I guess I might be one of them once in a while). Paranoia develops a strange defence mechanism, sometimes it prevents more good things happening than terrible things not happening.
We don't want to be judged by our past, because the past is the past and we don't live there any more. As it have been compared, that life is a lot like riding a bicycle: to keep the balance we have to more forward. But then regret is the most common thing that is keeping us on moving forward with our lives. It's not even about the people who judge us, it is how we take the judgement, though it also depends on how we feel about the people it comes from. People tend to hurt the people they care and for whom they have great deal of respect. The more we care the more shame and regret we feel when we do something morally disgraceful. Shame is a strong moral feeling, it can be good if it will guide us, not take us down with it. To deal with shame we should apologize and try to be a better person. That is what we all should do, there is never enough apologies and if people don't understand that they are wrong we should give them a hint. It is easier to forgive people than to forgive ourselves for the things gone wrong. So learn to forgive people, because none of us is perfect and the biggest regret lives in us. Take chances and don't look back too much.