Perception

I have been going to physical therapy for my neck. With the discovery of my scoliosis, for which nothing can be done at my age, the spine in my neck has been having issues, and the therapy has been doing wonders. The young lady who works with me is a friendly 20-year-old. One afternoon, as I was in therapy, we were talking about the perceptions people have of others. She said that as a black person, some people have an instant perception of who she is. I agreed with her and said that when I was her age, I had hair down to my shoulders and was backpacking around Europe on my own. She could not believe that and was fascinated that I was like that. I continued to say that as a grey-haired man who wears his hair short, it is hard to believe who I was in my early 20s.

I told her about the time I was in Salzburg, Austria, when I went to a bagel shop one morning. Behind me in line were two older American ladies. When I ordered one of those, one of the ladies said to me, "I thought you were German and expected you to hear your order in German." I responded in my Texas accent, "No ma'am, I am from Houston, Texas."

I went on to tell the young physical therapist that everyone judges others based on appearances. It is not a bad thing, unless you act on that perception.