Entry 3: Perception Checking

When I was in middle school, my brother was my best friend, and so naturally all his friends were my friends too. But I noticed they used the word, "phat," pronounced like "fat." I had no idea what that meant. But learned that it was a synonym for "cool." But for awhile, I was really confused. When a pair of jeans looked awesome, they'd say "phat" and I thought for sure they were talking about the wideness of a pair of jeans. Or the color scheme in a picture looked really interesting, but they would describe their amusment by saying "phat." By then it had lost me, I didn't realize any thickness in something that was as one dimensional as color. It was really confusing growing up with my brother and his friends.

This week I went shopping with some friends, and I was looking for pairs of shorts to prepare myself for the upcoming summer. In trying on a pair, I caught myself saying, "Ooooh, I love this style!" But in doing so, I realized, how could you love something inanimate like style? It's just sort of there, style doesn't love you back, the pair of shorts don't offer any affection back, yet I loved it. Love could have many meanings. It could be the type of love where you adore someone and do affectionate things for because you care. Or it could be the type of love where it's more extreme than liking. But even those definitions are vague, because love varies from person to person. Yet, here I was already loving a pair of shorts. What I should have said was something like, "this style of shorts is really cute," or "this pair of shorts really fits my body nicely." It wasn't entirely vital that I correct myself, but if my friends weren't from around my area or familiar to my way of speaking, they would possibly think I was silly because I reacted so extremely.

These sitations didn't necessarily affect those around me, but it did help me become more articulate of my ideas. I think it's always necessary to do some perception checking, whether it be before or after. Before a situation is good because you can analyze the possible consequences, or give awareness to what others might think of you. After the situation because there could be something you might learn, and then remember for future references.