First Impression: The First Chapter Not The Whole Story

Hello Scifi family.. hope you're all doing well?

This prompt met me at the right time, because first impression has always fascinated me. I mean have you met someone and formed an opinion about them in the first thirty seconds, only to later find out that you're completely wrong about them.

Okay, this happened to a colleague of mine about me and it's the story i have been wanting to share since I saw this prompt.

I remember when i first started teaching. My very first day in the staff room. I was quiet and almost withdrawn because I didn't want to say anything that might seem wrong in front of the senior colleagues there.

One of the Older teachers Mrs Aniete, took that silence as pride. She assumed that didn't want to mix with the rest of the staff or interact with others. For the first few weeks we barely talked beyond greetings.

It wasn't until we were paired together in the Igbo group, in preparation for the school cultural day that things changed.

We worked together and because she didn't know much about the Igbo culture, I was the head of the group. We brainstormed together, brought different ideas for the best of the group.

Somewhere in between the laughter over a Pupils funny answers to our questions, she saw a different side of me. Someone easy to talk to, someone who could crack a joke and someone who genuinely cared about the pupils, Few days after she told me how she felt about me the first time i came. Her first impression of me was wrong. We became close after that cultural activity and I always go to her for some advice.

That little experience made me realize that, silence isn't pride, and confidence doesn't always show on the first day.

Now, whenever I meet someone new, especially someone quiet, I try to give them little more chance before forming an opinion.

A simple "how far" can crack open a first impression that started on a wrong foot. And also when meeting someone new, I try to smile and make eye contact, ask genuine questions instead of only talking about my self and most importantly I always mind my tone. Here in Nigeria we hear tone before we hear words. It also good to give people little time to warm up before judging their personality.

To me, first impression matters but they're just an opening chapter not the whole story.

Image is ai generated.