Expressing first impressions

I spent a little time looking through some Word documents I have started in the last several years — unpublished columns from my newspaper days, unspoken comedy routines and one-liners lost in the virtual piles of files and a list of quotes I thought may be good for a yet-to-be-published book or, for now, a blog post.

In that list was a quote I made note of a year or so ago after chatting about first impressions with a group of relatively new friends from Louisiana. One of the women from the group said this upon recalling our first meeting:

"When I first met you, I thought, ‘He’s kind of cute.’ And then you opened your mouth."

It should be noted the person who said that is one of the most articulate young women I have met in my life. She's someone who I respect for a lot of reasons and, without knowing exactly what she meant, you might think it's quite a rude response. Of course, I know what she meant and to what she was referring. That wouldn't have been the case a decade or so before that conversation.

As I re-read that line this weekend, I had to laugh. It's funny, and it reminded me of her absolutely bomb-dropping sense of humor. It's flattering, sort of (Only "kind of" cute?), and it made me think about how I base my opinions on first impressions.

Every day we meet a new person or see a stranger walking down the street and think something — dare I say it's often rude and/or inappropriate? — that sticks with us and is triggered the next time we see that person ... if there is a next time.

The lesson here? Don't judge me, because I'm totally three steps ahead of you. (Seriously, what are you thinking with that shirt? I can't believe you left the house ...)