Reality is only a matter of perception

Even those of us who think we are not judgmental people I think are really only fooling ourselves. We just someone from the first sight, the first conversation, the first interaction, and often from what other people has said. The open minded people are the ones that allow those perceptions to be changed rather than holding true to their perceptions.

I remember starting a brand new job, I was about 19 yrs. old a mother and college student. There was another girl that started the same day as me. From the minute I saw her I thought to myself. "I am not going to like this girl, she looks like a total &*^@#." From what I could tell by the way she dressed, how she presented herself, and the look of don't approach me written all over her face.

Unfortunately we had no choice but to work side by side with each other. I dreaded the thought and hoped I wouldn’t suffer the wrath she seemingly wore in her demeanor. Within a week of working with her I quickly realized my perceptions were completely off, she was a wonderful person. I remember meeting her husband for the first time when I came over to her house for a barbecue and he asked how long we had known each other. Our reply was three weeks; he laughed and said he could have sworn we knew each other our entire lives.

That was how our friendship was from the first day, as we had been friends our whole lives. Stephanie has been my best friend for the last 14 years and I hope she will be my best friend for the next 14 years. If I hadn’t let my guard down and made an effort to get along with her I wouldn’t have her as my best friend today. In fact it turned out that she was so scared that first day she could barely function.  I am glad I didn’t allow my perception to cloud the reality.

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