first impressions are just first impressions

My DailyOM said today:

It is our natural inclination to judge people, since it happens without our even thinking about it. We take one look and summarize a whole person--overweight, pretty, stylish, sloppy. This habit comes from the mind's need to categorize the world in order to be able to function without becoming overwhelmed. When we judge, we are looking for pertinent information, trying to determine whether the person approaching is a threat, an ally, or someone we don't need to worry about. This way of looking at people makes sense in a dangerous context, but in our daily lives it leads to an overly simplistic reading of the people we meet.

If you have ever judged someone dismissively, only to have them become a dear friend once you got to know them, you know the hazards of the judgment cycle firsthand. An experience like that may have led you to soften your natural tendency to believe your first impressions.

I misjudged a number of people in my lifetime. Meron akong mga close friends ngayon na akala ko nung una kong nakilala eh bitch o mayabang o maarte at hindi ko makakasundo ever.

Isa sa mga taong yan ay ang best friend ko na si Marge.

Nung una ko siyang nakita nung freshmen kami sa UP, isip ko, ang coño naman neto. Siempre, intimidated ang promding si ako sa Makati-girl at Malatean na si Marge.

Yung mukha pa niyan laging serious tapos kung umasta sophisticated na sophisticated. Di ko siya nilalapitan kasi takot! Baka Inglisin ako or something o kaya sungitan o isipin niya na ang jologs ko (di pa masyado ginagamit ang word na yan that time). Lagi niyang kasama ang taga-Poveda na si Lory, si Gladys Tolete tsaka si Mark David.

Hindi ko na maalala ang unang beses na naginteract kami. Malamang sa isang class yun. Ang weird nga eh. Di ko na maalala yung precise moment na nagbago ang perception ko kay Marge. Siguro there wasn't a precise moment. Maybe it was a process, after which I ended up concluding that she wasn't so scary after all. And wasn't so coño either.

Soon enough, we saw ourselves hanging out sa CASAA steps. Habang nagyoyosi pinapagusapan namin yung mga taong dumadaan. Favorite hobby namin mamintas. Hahaha. Pag di naman kami nanonood ng mga tao, kumakain kami ng carbonara sa loob. O kaya turon na may langka or cheese.

We took the same Komunikasyon III class and were able to spend more time together. Dun pa niya nakilala ang kanyang unang boyfriend. Ang galing nga kasi nasa introduce yourself part pa lang ng class, alam ko na nung nagsalita si A na type siya ni Marge. Aba't tingnan mo nga naman, after a while eh naging sila nga.

Tapos nung sumali si Marge sa academic org sa maskom, sumali din ako. For more. Hahaha. Sabay pa kami ininitiate nun.

Come senior year, we were thesis partners. Noon talaga namin nahalukay ang qualities at nakilala ng todo ang isa't isa. We had common interests, shared similar viewpoints on things. We both felt inferior to our blockmates (kasi ang gagaling nila). Nevertheless, we were happy kids.

Paeasy-easy kami pareho. Once, after ng interview namin sa MAD (Richard Gomez' MAD) para sa thesis namin (on party list elections), di ko pinasukan ang PolSci 14 ko at nanood kami ni Marge ng Planet of the Apes.

Nung ininterview naman namin si RB ng Comelec, tawa kami ng tawa after kasi merong cracker crumbs ang naturang official sa side ng kanyang bibig. Hahahaha.

Pag naman nagoovernight kami sa kanila, nageenjoy ako ng todo sa kanilang library na mukhang radio station kasi may cork boards sa pader para di magbounce ang sound. Tas may phone pa at swivel chair. Pag puyat ako, nahahyper ako at nagpepretend na isang DJ. Hahaha. Tumatanggap pa ako ng phone-in questions! Haha. Tapos sobrang namangha pa kami sa visualization feature ng noon ay bagong Windows Media Player. Astig! Kumpleto na ang aming radio-station experience!

Super enjoy ang mga thesis adventures namin. Enjoy kami ng enjoy di namin namalayan na matatapos na pala ang academic year eh di pa namin nagagawa ang annex na pinapasulat ni Ma'am Rachel Khan nung first sem pa lang! Hahahaha. For that, hinunting ko si Prof. Benito Lim para sa isang interview. Si Marge ang tagatawag sa office at ako naman ang rumoronda sa Ikot at Toki route para pag tinawagan ako ni Marge, mapupuntahan ko kagad si Prof. Tingnan mo nga naman ang teamwork namin. Nahuli ko si Prof sa Asian Center. Haha. Tagumpay!!!

Natapos naman namin in time ang thesis with a whopping 1.25! Hahaha. Pinagmamalaki namin yan kasi we enjoyed doing our thesis kaya parang effortless. At kung di nga daw nadelay yun, isusuggest daw sana ni Ma'am Rachel na ibenta namin sa mga magazines. But no, late kami! Hahaha.

In 2004, naging officemates na kami, although ibang publications. Niloloko nga kami ng teammates niya na kami daw. Haha. Before naging kami ni Reden, si Marge ang boyfriend ko. Haha. Napaniwala nga nila si Tracy na kami nga! Hahaha.

Now, we still get to hang out everyday during lunch and minsan after office. We still go shopping once in a while. We still go out for pulutan and inom. We've traveled a lot, too. Thanks to Marge nakarating ako ng Boracay for free at nakarating din ng Bohol at Cebu. She sparked my love for travel and sana we can go somewhere again before I get married.

For me, Marge proved na first impressions are wrong most of the time. How our friendship evolved since the first time I met her makes me want to give people a chance even if di maganda first impression ko sa kanila. At this age I've learned na people are interesting and it's fun getting to know them. It just takes patience.

Some people, however, require more patience than others. Now they deserve another post. =)