Today I went with my father to run an errand in Central Square. It was close to noon and being as I didn't have work today, I hadn't eaten breakfast and decided to go to Au Bon Pain to get a coffee and bagel while I waited. He took a bit longer than I expected and I was left waiting outside the building he had entered to pick up some tape transcripts and had plenty of time for people watching.
I went out last night and was really in no physical condition to be judging people by their appearance. I had about fifteen minutes to throw on some clothes and put a few things together, brush my teeth, etc. before leaving the house. My hair remained in its usual morning-craziness, I had thrown on my over-sized black Juicy pants, some flip flops and my sorority sweatshirt, and worst of all no bra. My makeup was smeared all over my face because I didn't have time to thoroughly wash it off, and honestly hadn't been in any condition to wash it off before going to bed last night. People probably thought I was some kind of crazy person and I wouldn't blame them.
As I was people watching, I noticed a homeless man in a wheelchair. He was holding a cup hoping for someone to toss in some coins. I'm sure he wasn't expecting this woman to stop and talk to him for a solid ten minutes. From the spot under a tree where I was standing, I watched their entire conversation. She didn't really look like the sort of woman who would stop and have a genuine conversation with anybody, let alone a bum on the sidewalk. Yes, I'm absolutely making judgements based solely on appearance. She had cheaply dyed bleach-blonde hair (with roots), tacky tight black sweatpants, was smoking some strange sort of cigarette and looked like the sort that I would normally stereotype as "white trash."
She must not have had a very busy day ahead of her because she stood talking and laughing with this man for quite some time. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I know I was probably staring, as I'm prone to doing. As she said goodbye, I heard her say to him, "have a great day, you're a very nice man!" She started walking in my direction and the man looked pleased that somebody actually noticed him and took the time out of their day to talk to him. Most people probably just avoid eye contact and quickly pass by. I hate to admit it, but this is what I usually would do in this situation. She threw me a bright-eyed smile as she walked by and despite my hesitancy to interact with strangers that I tend to have not long after I've woken up, I couldn't help but grin back.
I was utterly impressed with her actions. After walking by me she stopped to talk to yet another bum. I watched her flip her bleached hair as she spoke and thought to myself, "hmm...I would never have expected someone like this to behave this way." Then I started to wonder about myself. What do strangers think about me when I walk by? I'd be willing to guess that they assume I'm a snobby, stuck-up bitch. I'm really not (most of the time), but I know that when I think to myself, which I almost always do, my face contorts accordingly and usually winds up looking like a sourpuss. I can't help it.
People constantly surprise me. They're almost never what you'd expect them to be. I should probably stop judging people by how they seem to be on the outside.
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