84) First Impressions

Hello, my dear indulgers of The Plan! I thought I'd write a little more personal post today, seeing as the entries this week have largely been homework assignments from class. A little stuffy in the writing, no? I guess I have yet to learn the appropriate voice to use when writing about trends.

Today in class we were talking about photography's role in coolhunting. As an exercise, we got into our small three person groups and each took a picture of the other two. Then we wrote a description of each person, based on an analysis of the photo we took, and regardless of whatever we did or did not already know about our classmates. After, we exchanged papers so we could see how people saw us - to see what kind of person we made ourselves out to be in the picture.

Here's what the two other girls in my group wrote about me, based on an informal photo:
- responsible
- hardworking, committed to her job - a future business woman
- organized, a perfectionist
- has a taste for fashion
- calm, a rational person
- likes to party, but likes laid back activities like movies and museums more
- lives a healthy lifestyle - works out, eats healthy food
- a family person
- serious, but friendly
- independent
- keeps a few, really good trustworthy friends
- intelligent

The exercise was so interesting me. We all have an idea of who we are, of the person we try to present to the world, but how often do we get to hear an outsider's first impression of us? The description of me was really eye opening, but not because it was completely off - actually, it was spot on. It was more the realization that this is the personality that I've created, the person I've become at this point in my life.

The two that really hit me were the "likes to party, but likes laid back activities like movies and museums more" and "keeps a few, really good trustworthy friends." I'm not sure if my classmate is just really good at reading people or what, but she was dead on. She picked out something that even I am still coming to terms with. As much as I'd like to be the outgoing, bubbly party girl that has tons of friends, that's just not who I am. I do choose wandering museums and catching movies, even if it's by myself, over a bar or club. And it's true that I keep only a few close friends.

Somehow, however accurate, it's hard for me to not see some of the descriptions as faults. Obviously, first impressions are exactly that, and I'd like to think that there's more to me than this. But what if there's not? Do I just accept the fact that I am a responsible, intelligent, hard working, calm, rational, organized, independent introvert? (Ugh, listing them all out at once makes me sound like some sort of robot.) Or is this a springboard for change, or at the very least, self-improvement in certain areas? Can I make myself appear more warm, creative, and passionate about life? Or would it just be a front for my aforementioned true self?