Can You Trust Your First Impression?
"This person looks scary!"
"They're sulking and seem unpleasant."
Or something like that?
We've all met someone who gave us a 'bad first impression' when we first met them, right?👀
This time, I'm going to write about the theme suggested by Yoshi-san, who recommended note to me:
"Memories and episodes of a new life."
I'm going to write about that.
[A story from when I was 23]
At the time, I was living in Tokyo and ended up going to a theater company in another prefecture in the Kanto region for a one-month guest appearance.
I pulled my large suitcase and boarded the train at Tokyo Station.
Traveling a long distance alone to a place I'd never been... I'm naturally bad with directions, so I was full of anxiety.
The scenery flowing past the train window gradually changed from the tall buildings of the city to mountains and rural landscapes.
I don't remember much, but I think I was reading a paperback book the whole time.
When I finally arrived at the destination station and exited the ticket gate, three members from the theater company were there to greet me.
Two people in their late 20s, a man and a woman, and one boy who looked like an idol.
The man and woman (A-san and B-san) had bright smiles and a very kind atmosphere!
The idol-like boy (C-san) was standing at an angle and always looked like he was trying to be cool (lol)—though he actually was cool!
We arrived at the theater company by car, exchanged greetings with the director, the director's wife, the theater members, and the staff—
After moving to the dormitory, they showed me my room.
But!!!
"XXX-san (me), you'll be sharing a room with C-chan, so please take care of each other. C-chan is also a guest performer and is 20, so you're closest in age, right?"
.........Whaaaat!
C-san, who I was sure was a boy, was actually a girl—(lol)
Back then, the word 'genderless' didn't even exist (or I didn't know it).
Because it wasn't just her appearance; her voice and the way she spoke were exactly like a boy's!
The first impression I had of C-san:
"What a kid, just trying to look cool and acting aloof."
C-san's first impression when she saw me:
"She looks like a 'burikko' (pretending to be cute)... we won't get along."
That was us.
(I gradually realized later—in terms of personality, we might have actually been complete opposites?)
After finishing the one-month guest appearance, I returned to Tokyo.
A few months later, I went back to that theater company for a one-year long-run stage performance and reunited with C-san.
We, who had such bad first impressions of each other, came to understand one another while living and working together on stage, fought without holding back, and became closer than anyone else.
We supported each other when we were sick, and became best friends, sisters... like family!
The worse the first impression, the deeper the bond that is born when it is overturned.
I would experience this 'first impressions can't be trusted' lesson many times throughout my life.
The more I meet someone who I think doesn't give a very good first impression, the more excited I get with the expectation that they might overturn it.
Life and human relationships are 'interesting because of the surprises and gaps'!
Details about the theater company😊
That article is here⬇️