First Impressions

"That's an ugly sculpture." I told my husband as we looked through the pictures he brought back from his trip to Chicago last spring. "It looks like a shiny bike helmet." I was ready to move on, dismissive of the ugly, new-fangled sculpture. "Actually," he pointed out, "It's quite amazing. As you get closer, it reflects all the buildings and becomes really beautiful." He flipped ahead to this picture: He was right. Looking closer at the sculpture and understanding it within the context of its surroundings made all the difference in my appreciation for its beauty. How often are we like that in life? How many times do we dismiss out-of-hand another person based on our initial first impression? I've done that with friendships sometimes. My initial impression of a person will be something like, She seems nice enough, but we probably don't have anything in common. Luckily, I'm a pretty nice person, so I've gotten to know some people out of simple politeness. Some of them have turned out to be my best friends. I'm glad I didn't let a false first impression spoil some of my most enriching friendships

Comments

3in3mom said…
What a cool post--I am sure glad we're friends. It's been fun to have friends that stay life long--I learn so much from you!
Hailey said…
So true about the friendship thing. Some of the people I click the most with would appear to be my polar opposite on the surface!
Small House said…
SO TRUE!
Wendy said…
I agree completely with you about the whole first impression thing. It's something I've tried to overcome and let time be the true test of character and whether a friendship will happen.
Erin said…
Beautifully written!