The Mystery of First Impressions

It's always a mystery to me.

How is it possible to dislike someone you've never met before?

Someone you've never had a conversation with. Someone who's never done anything to you. Someone you've only seen from a distance, or perhaps for the very first time.

And on the other hand, how is it possible that you instantly don't like someone you've only just met?

I think about that more often than I should.

People always say, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Yet somehow, that's exactly what we do without even realising it. Sometimes all it takes is a face, a voice, the way someone walks into a room, or even the stories we've heard from other people. Before we know it, we've already written a version of them in our minds.

It's strange, isn't it?

How can we dislike a soul we've never taken the time to know?

What if they're actually kind? What if they're carrying burdens we know nothing about? What if they're praying for peace while we're quietly deciding we don't want them around?

I've experienced both sides.

I've had people dislike me before we ever exchanged a single word. I could feel it. The coldness. The distance. The assumptions. It used to bother me because I kept asking myself, "What did I do?" But eventually, I realised that sometimes...the answer is nothing

Not every opinion people have of us is something we created.

And if I'm being honest, there have also been moments when I caught myself doing the very same thing. Meeting someone and immediately feeling that we probably wouldn't get along. No reason. Just a feeling. Looking back, I wonder how many wonderful people I almost missed because I trusted my first impression more than I trusted the possibility that I could be wrong.

Maybe that's one if the quiet lessons of growing older.

Not everyone will like us. We won't naturally like everyone either. But perhaps we owe each other something simple. A chance.

A conversation.

A little grace before a conclusion.

Because sometimes the people we thought we'd never get along with become the ones who teach us the most. And sometimes, the people we instantly liked become the ones who hurt us the deepest.

Human beings are wonderfully complicated.

Maybe, maybe that's why first impressions should never be the final chapter.

Goodnight. 💛