There was this group of young guys who were once my regular clients. They would come to my office and change their clothes; I mean, my office became their wardrobe. Yeah, I do laundry.
One season, they added another guy to their circle, and one of those days, they came and left. When they left, they called me to check my office to see if they had left their phone there. I checked everywhere, but I didn't see anything, so they started ransacking themselves and found out that the new guy who had started following them was the one who stole the phone.
That first impression about the guy stayed in my head till today.
I don't know how they did it; after a long while of discarding the guy from their midst, the guy started following them, and anytime they come to my office, my eyes are always pinned to the guy, being extremely vigilant in order not to let him steal anything.
I don't know whether the guy has repented or whether the guy was forcefully accused because it looks strange for them to integrate him into their midst again. That first impression of him being a pickpocket has stayed in my head, and it's very hard for me to erase.
So that is how it works. It may be very possible that the first impression the person gives at first is not the real identity of the person, but what people see at first easily stays with them, and it takes a lot of time to get that thought out of the mind.
So in my opinion, first impressions matter a lot even though they don't, most times, tell who a person really is.
You know what? Sometimes we won't have the opportunity to meet people often enough to see their true selves; it's just that one-time impression that matters a lot.
I have left relationships I wanted to build due to the first impression of the lady being centered on the common Nigerian trend that ladies automatically sign up to eat off a man's money whenever they're in a relationship. Once I see this as a first impression, I don't think twice to conclude that the lady is not serious about the relationship.
Thanks for reading.
Photo: Chatgpt
