First impressions...as much as you try not to judge a book by its cover, you do. It happens. It is not something that you intentionally try to do, it kind of just happens. However, often you find yourself being way off with your preconceived notions (even if you're right sometimes). When you learn an extra piece of information that you weren't really expecting about someone that you previously "judged," you wonder what to do with that information. It changes your views even if you don't want it to. Good or bad, you perceive that person differently than you originally did even though you know you really shouldn't. You wonder if it were better when you didn't know and if that new little piece of information is all that you will be able to think about in that person's presence. The info can range from so many things--a prior action, a belief, a number, a secret flaw, an unusual passion, a history--the list goes on. You go on to realize that that piece of info makes the person who they are; it is part of their life. It cannot be changed whether it changes your first impression of them or not. It is something you have to come to terms with because that person obviously already has since they decided to share that piece of information with you.
When it is something bad, you tell yourself, "it has made that person better and it was something in the past," "it won't happen again," "it was a one time thing," "it's not that big of a deal,"--whatever makes yourself think less about it or block it out of your mind, your memory. When it is something good that you find out about the person, you find yourself happy for that person...at first. Then you again start to wonder if it really is fair that someone that you had a different predetermined view about gets something so good to happen to them in their life when you didn't expect it. You try not to be jealous because you find your first impression was off and now you're moreso impressed by this person or their life, but you don't know if you like that or not. Better to have known or not known? Well, since you can't really change the fact that you know, you have to figure out a way to fit that information into your "mold" of this person. I guess this can happen whether you previously believed a person to lead the "perfect" life and you find it to be a little more troubled than you thought or if you believed a person was not what you thought them to be because they secretly had all these good things going for them all along the way even if they acted otherwise (or something along those lines).
**We try not to jump to conclusions about people too quickly, but we can't help it sometimes. I guess if we are wrong, we have to accept it, deal with it, move on and try even more not to keep doing so. First impressions may cause us to act a certain way around others, but with that extra tad bit of information that was not previously known, it can flip our opinion upside down. Well, whatever it may be, as long as we treat people with respect and respect that info we receive, good or bad, maybe we'll be okay in that person's presence the next time we're around him or her; after all, he or she was always the same, it was we who had the different preconceived notions.
P.S. To people who actually read through this whole thing, sorry for the vagueness...was just something on my mind
