Have A First Impressions Day - Part 1

First impressions can be intimidating. We can sometimes feel that we only have that one shot to get it right.

As kids, we were often told to not judge a book by its cover. But, that saying contradicts what seems like a natural occurrence that goes on in the human brain, when it encounters something new for the first time. The brain wants to be able to categorize everything, whether that something truly fits into a specific category or not. I believe it’s an innate need that we have within us. A need to be able to break down every bit of information that comes our way, and make it fit into pretty little boxes with bows on top. Wait, what? Your boxes don’t have bows on top? Well hmmph.

Ok but seriously, we all know that you’re not supposed to judge someone, before you even have a chance to know them. But we are all guilty of doing it to others, just as others do it to us. I think it depends on what degree of presumptions and especially assumptions you are making of that complete stranger. No matter what kind of sub-conscious, snap-decision my brain will make of someone new, I like to keep an open mind and recognize that I cannot possibly know everything about them from appearance alone.

Given that we are conscious of other people’s judgments of us, we can often times put a larger emphasis than probably necessary, on making first impressions “count.” I know I’ve done it. Now I’m not talking about a first day of work or a job interview, where obviously a lot is weighed on your first impression. I’m talking about how I’ve stressed myself out over planning my appearance for many just about every first day of school I’ve ever had. I have over analyzed what clothing to wear, what shoes to wear, what accessories to wear, how to style my hair & if and how I should wear my makeup. It’s as if I’m trying to squeeze the very essence of who I am into one overall look, so that everyone who sees me for the first time will get me. Yeah right, as if that’s even possible! Most of the time, I don’t even get myself.

Since I have been planning out this blog, I’ve also been trying to plan out what to wear as my “debut” outfit. Silly, no? I mean, I hardly ever know what I'm going to wear until I put it on. Most mornings, I usually just stand in front of my closet and listen for a certain piece of clothing to call my name. So ultimately, I decided that the creation of my first outfit on this blog should be just as organic. Besides, first impressions obviously count for something, but if someone is truly worth my time, I feel that they will be willing to stick around long enough to get to know me a little bit more.