The Heart of First Impressions

Daily writing prompt

What’s the first impression you want to give people?

I think that first impressions are how we hope people see us versus how we think they actually do. When I imagine the version of myself I want people to meet, she’s kind. She’s approachable, warm, endearing, and maybe even a little soft-spoken in a comforting way. That’s the kind of energy I want others to perceive. Deep down, I truly am all of that to my core, but sometimes the message gets lost in translation.

There are often moments where I feel like I give off an entirely different vibe. I feel like I can be distant, awkward, and too quiet. I don’t always know if that perception is real or just the story my mind tells me when I start overthinking (which, let’s be honest, is often).

As a neurodivergent woman, I’ve spent years analyzing the way people respond to me. I start assuming that I’ve either said too little, or too much. That I appeared uninterested. That I came off cold. When in reality, I was just a shy person trying to regulate my thoughts.

Sometimes my inner world moves so differently from the way my outside looks.

Inside: soft, caring, observant, thoughtful.
Outside: quiet, cautious, reserved… and maybe, a little hard to read.

I think many of us experience this gap between who we are and who we fear people think we are. And that gap can feel lonely, especially when we want connection but worry we’re being misunderstood.

But I try to tell myself that people who take the time to really see you, will see you. They’ll notice the warmth, kindness, and caring nature that I’ve always had. They’ll understand that softness isn’t the same as aloofness.

Perhaps the impression I think I’m giving isn’t the impression other receive at all. Maybe the problem isn’t the that I come across wrong…but that I’m still learning to trust my own goodness, energy, and way of being.

So yes, I want people to see me as kind, approachable, and endearing. But I’m also learning that being myself fully and authentically is enough. I think the right people will recognize it immediately. The rest of them? They’ll catch up eventually.