Featured Article – First Impressions

by Kandi A. White

 

I recently travelled to Europe on a Mediterranean cruise.  I had

a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit several different

countries of various cultures in one trip.

 

In high school, I wasn’t fond of history and elected to study

geography instead.  So I had some idea where the countries were

located but not much about their history.

 

In my adult years I’ve become more interested in world history

and especially biblical history.  In these days you can learn

so much about a country by watching the news on CNN or BBC.

 

Even so, you still formulate in your mind an impression or

opinion of what the country looks like, or how the people live.

Sometimes first impressions can be a true impression but many

times they are not.

 

It’s funny how our minds that are capable of brilliance can

be so finite.  By this I mean, we tend to judge a place by

looking at its exterior or a person by their appearance.

 

In Bermuda where I live, we are closest to the United States

of America.  I travel to the US once or twice a year and mostly

to Florida.  Over the years I come to expect to see larger

and larger cars and trucks.  In most cases it seems to be a

status symbol and a way of life.  The bigger the vehicle,

the more expensive the vehicle the better.  It doesn’t matter

who the person is behind the steering wheel, the first

impression is the exterior of the vehicle.

 

Then there’s the lavish homes that are springing up all over

the place and even in Bermuda.  We often fall into the trap

with the first impression.  You’re considered important if you

have a big home or nice home.  Doesn’t matter what type of

person lives in it.

 

So needless to say, when I arrived in the ports of Spain,

France, Italy, Greece and Turkey I immediately looked for the

big cars and limos.  To my surprise I did not see many.  I

saw mostly small to midsize cars and lots of scooters and

mopeds.  I felt at home as they were similar to the size

cars we have in Bermuda.  But in Bermuda, having a dirty car

like many that I saw is not good.  Having a shiny clean car

is a status symbol in Bermuda.  Again it doesn’t matter who

the person driving the vehicle is.

 

Sometimes our first impressions tell us that we don’t like

something or someone even before we’ve said one single

word to them.  I feel this is a basis for some of the strife

between the nations today.  Suppose the first time you met me

I was wearing a colour you didn’t particularly like.  You’re

first impression could be that you don’t like me.  We each

need to check ourselves because this is a real problem.

 

In Turkey I visited Istanbul and Kusadasi.  My first

impression of the crowded city of high rise apartments with

clothes hanging outside of windows was not very favourable.

I’m so thankful that I took a tour and had a Turkish guide

who spoke English.  There was so much history to be said about

Turkey and the guide had so much passion for his country.  I

was then able to understand why the city was so crowded and

was glad to learn a little about their culture.

 

In Kusadasi again we had a Turkish guide who spoke English.

One place we visited was the ancient city of Ephesus and I

had the most awesome experience standing in the Great Theatre

where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians.  The guide was so

knowledgeable and again my perspective changed from my first

impression of Kusadasi.  At the end of the tour the guide told

us that he was muslim but respected Christianity.  He reminded

us that there is one God. Just because we don’t have the same

beliefs in Jesus Christ, doesn’t mean that we cannot communicate

with one another.

 

Kusadasi was one of the best places I visited on the trip.  Now

if I hadn’t taken the tour with an English speaking guide, I

probably would have said I didn’t like Turkey just from my

first impression.

 

I could go on and give you several other first impression

examples of my trip but I only want to make a point.  First

impressions can sometimes give us unintentional false

impressions about a person or place.  It can cause division,

disharmony and many prejudices.  So it’s important to

get to know more about a person or place you are visiting.  As

the popular saying goes, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’.

=================================================================

Kandi White is the author of Hours of Pure Gold, a book of

Inspiration, Motivation, and Gratitude, a resource to help you

find your true purpose in life.

http://www.xlibris.com/hoursofpuregold.html