We're going to take some time out today to talk about the importance of first impressions.
If you read my last blog entry, then you know how my first impression of Danny Miller was (if you haven't read it yet, go read it now, and then come back to this). Danny Miller is effing legit! Pure class through and through. I'd have to say most of the people at the table that night came away feeling the same thing.
However, in tellng my story to other Sharks fans, and even one of the Sharks fans at the table that night, not everyone has been as impressed by Danny Miller as I was. One story was during Dew Tank Patrol try outs, he was apparently rather rude to someone. And there was a whole crew of people who blamed him for the Joe Ike mess (he took over for long time, and beloved in ring announcer Joe Ike this year...and it ended up being forced upon him, but we didn't know that until talking to him, and thus some people blamed him). So their first impressions of Danny Miller were not as favorable, and they went around disliking the guy. Even the one person at our table that night came away conflicted because what she saw that night did not mesh with her first impression of him.
And that got me thinking, first impressions are really, really important! How you come across to someone the first time you meet them (or appear to them, or are told a story about to them) can really affect how they see you from there on out. If you are a jerk to someone, even in passing, you become a jerk in their eyes. And you have to live with that tag from them. It takes a lot of work in the opposite direction to change that first impression. Conversely, you see this all the time in relationships. People wonder why girls or guys many times stay with people who treat them like crap...but in the beginning, they were really nice and sweet. It wasn't until later that they became assholes (or just dropped their nice-guy facade). But the initial impression still remains branded into their brain, and its hard to change that perception!
Even my blog has first impressions. If someone was to randomly come across my blog on various days, they could come to think it completely different depending on the day. If they come on a day when I just want to rant, they may think I'm a whiny little bitch. Or they could come on a day when I put a lot of thought into a piece, and think I'm a great writer. Or maybe they stopped by today and think I'm a complete bore. In all cases, their first impression of this blog will probably dictate whether they will come back or not.
So, yeah, needless to say, first impressions are really important. And I have to say, I've noticed it regarding myself too. There are two clear incidences in my mind where people came away with different impressions of me. Both are reguarding friends of Bubs. One thought I was really hilareous. One thought I was rather stand offish and rude. But they met me in two different situations. The one who thought I was really funny met me in a bar setting where we were sitting around, drinking, and cracking jokes. The other one met me when I went grocery shopping with the two of them, made an arrogant demand of me, and I blew her off (no one I've never met gets to tell me what to do). But just like that, I was a stand offish jerk. Funny how that works. Two friends of the same person had completely different views of me.
This leads me to wonder what kind of first impression I've been making on people lately. I've met a lotta new people over the past few weeks through the Sharks fanblog I frequent. It would be interesting (or maybe not) to hear what people think of me the first time they meet me. I'd like to hope I come across as a likeable, fun guy, but you never really know, do you? I should also keep in mind these revelations next time I meet someone new. Do my best to craft that initial impression of me into a favorable one.
In the end, I just find it fascinating how various people can all see the same person in completely different ways. And when you sit and think about it, its pretty astonishing how important that first impression can be. Not to say you can't overcome a negative first impression, or destroy a positive one...but it takes a lotta work.
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