Snap judgments.

Ahhh, the only optimal time to write an entry is now - when I should be sleeping or studying. The fact of the matter is, I tend to write when I am more emotionally charged, but the past few weeks I have been feeling very level...hence the lack of entries.

Do you remember the days when we formed our opinions about others based on what your friend said about them? The last time that happened might have been in elementary school, or in my case, it last occurred in high school. Yes, I was once influenced by what I heard someone say about another person, to the point where I would go so far as to not become friends with someone if I heard through the hearsay the person's bad traits. I am not that dumb any more, but I also don't suffer from the "well, that person never did anything to me, so I don't have a problem with them" syndrome.

Like all things, it is best to lie somewhere in the middle. For instance, someone once told me that she found a girl in high school to be annoying and bossy - I generally tend to stay away from such people, but as I got to know her myself, I found that she was just verbal about her opinions and that her intentions were generally good. Initially, I didn't like her based on what somebody else had said, but much later, I felt very badly for judging her so quickly and not giving her a chance earlier. At the opposite end of the spectrum, when I heard about a friend being treated poorly by her on-again-off-again boyfriend, ie. public verbal insults, that behaviour is just not tolerable...and though I can be civilized to this person, I definitely approach with caution.

I'm not really sure what point I am getting at, but essentially, I am trying to be more cognizant of the relationships that I have and ones that I will make. The tendency I have is to write people off sometimes or I am too quick to judge someone based on a superficial assessment. I have to make a conscious effort to fight this reflex - but I think it is having very positive effects. Allowing myself to open up first really helps in letting my instincts kick in. Though you always have immediate instincts, I think the more time you give it, the more evidence you have for acting on your instincts.

In the meantime.

I'm trying to find the energy to write a proper entry. Since I have been on vacation for 5 weeks, there is much to catch up on...however, the prospect of writing that much is daunting...so we'll see what transpires soon.