People Watching

I always enjoy people watching. Observing everyone's little quirks, even for just a few seconds is intriguing to me. I know they say to not judge a book by it's cover, but I believe you can tell a lot about a person based on a single glance. I can get a good idea if you have money by what brands of clothing you are wearing. I can tell that you are running late when you are quickly shuffling past others walking at normal speed. Is your head held high? If so, you are probably a confident person. I can probably tell you what kind of music you listen to, the movies you watch, and the books you read just by looking at your shoes. I notice the guys who think they have a shot and the girls who clearly think the opposite. I know these are sweeping generalizations but the way you present yourself, what you wear, how you act, and who you associate with are probably a pretty accurate view of who you truly are.

I often catch people staring at me. I've always wondered why. I glance up and momentarily lock eyes with total strangers. Some look away, while others keep staring. Some even look away, only to look back moments later. Am I that attractive? Or just that weird looking? Are they just doing what I do? Or is there really something deeper, trying to figure out my life story in a only a moment? Are they assessing where I stand against them? Or are they just curious to see if I will do anything different than every other person they look at? I will probably never know as I will never see most of these people ever again.

The people that I truly find interesting are the ones who respond in a way that is very out of the norm, the ones who will approach you after simply making eye contact. Sometimes its in a confrontational manner, others just out of kindness. An example of this occurred to me a few days ago. I was at a meeting and I as I got up to leave, I locked eyes with a girl who I have never seen before in my life. I quickly made my assumptions about her and was about to move on. But she did something almost no one does. Instead of simply averting her gaze, she kept staring at me and then smiled. I smiled back. We both had no intention of meeting the other and we both knew that the whole experience was nothing more than a pleasant one. We had never exchanged a single word between the two of us and I doubt I will ever see her again. People say to not assume anything about anyone, but I think I learned a lot about the random girl with nothing more than a few seconds and a smile.