An Altered Opinion

     Stereotypically, women have the reputation of being bossy, opinionated and indecisive. While I am not a supporter of stereotypes, I will admit they are there for a reason. I, personally, am all of the above, with a few other traits thrown in for good measure; one of them being stubbornness. When I form an opinion on something, I stick to it, which made this particular assignment difficult for me. Wracking my brain, I searched for a shift in my mindset that had been large enough to merit a noticeable affect in my life. As a fairly open-minded person, when I form an opinion on something, I do my best to consider it from all angles. This means that I try to create an informed opinion, so that I don't have to change it later on; hence my obstacle with this assignment.

     One of the few things I have had a drastic opinion change about, is my close friend, Alex. When we first met, I thought she was intimidating, unapproachable and all-around scary. The first time I tried to speak with her was in one of our shared classes at school, and her answers were short, brisk and lacking in eye-contact. Her every action affirmed my belief that she wanted nothing to do with me. For the rest of the year I kept a safe distance in school. Unfortunately, school was not the only place we both frequented. Alex's mother was my riding instructor, who I met with twice a week. She was determined that Alex and I become friends, and would shove us together at every possible occasion. Eventually we worked out an unspoken agreement: you don't bother me, I won't bother you.

     This mute relationship lasted for almost a year. Our trail rides were silent. Our car trips were silent. Our riding lessons were silent. There is something that few people know about silence. It creates a bond; a still, noiseless recognition of the other person's presence that requires no words. After months and months of our inarticulate alliance, we tentatively began a verbal communication, that came to us with almost no effort. We discovered that because of the time we had spent together, simply in each other's presence, we were at ease. I learned that her inaccessible attitude was a result of her almost incapacitating shyness. She shared with me that she had thought I was silly and spoiled, and we laughed at our gross misconceptions of each other.

     When Alex and I put aside our original opinions of each other, we learned that people are rarely what they seem at first glance. Now, I make a point to spend time with a person before I form am erroneous assessment of their character. Although I had regarded myself as a considerate person before, the shift in my view towards Alex taught me that I was not giving others a proper opportunity to make a good impression.