Superficial Me

Tonight, I stopped into Taco Bell on the way home from work because Jon really wanted some nachos. I'm one of those people (those AWFUL AND ANNOYING PEOPLE) who just has to people watch when I am in a public place. I always listen to the conversations of strangers nearby, so never sit next to me in a restaurant and tell a secret. Cuz I will hear it! You can learn a lot about human nature from the conversations of strangers... this is partially why I enjoy Overheard in New York.

So, Taco Bell. As I am waiting for the nachos, I notice this high school girl chowing down on massive amounts of food. My first thought? "Grrrr, I HATE this girl!!! She must weigh 95 pounds and is eating about 5 tacos. I eat a piece of cake and gain 10 pounds right then and there. That sucks! That is SO UNFAIR." Because what I wouldn't give for a metabolism like that!

The first thought of the immature high school guys a couple of tables over? "Cute girl. Must whistle and act like morons. Make obscene noises. Must thump chest and possibly pee in circle around her." Which they proceeded to do, minus the peeing part, of course. Unless the situation escalated once I left.

My thoughts on human nature based on this little experience? We are superficial creatures. I started to feel pretty ashamed of myself for this, because there were other things to notice about this person- like the fact that she was carrying a ton of books! Under normal circumstances, on an un-crabby day, or a day in which the scale had not revealed three extra pounds, my first thought would have probably been, "I wonder what she's reading? Have I read that before?" To have my first thought go directly to a person's appearance instead of what is actually going on... for me, it was almost as shameful as the behaviors of the rowdy, ridiculous boys around her.

I suppose that the subliminal messages of our "Skinny is Cool" culture have affected me more than I'd thought. With that in mind, I am going to make a conscious choice to think differently; to not judge people on appearance. Because being superficial is not a quality that I want.