writing exercise: First impressions In my opinion, first impressions are crucial. Every person judges other people from the first look at them. What they wear, how they greet, how they behave and talk tell a lot about them from the very first minutes. I think I'm quite good at understanding if one person is my kind of person. I'm also good at reading people minds. Thus it makes me easier to chose a person who may become a friend. Obviously, sometimes I'm wrong. It happened that the first impression was not the right one, particularly when the person is shy or introvert. That kind of person tends to hide and protect themselves by being quiet, not talkative. Only later in time, by hanging out with them, I got to know who they truly are: their opinions, their character, their values. Being an introvert myself makes it easier to recognize that kind of people. On the other side, the shyness and being an introvert has made me lose some opportunity to get deeper in a relationship. So many times I avoided to put myself in situations where I could have feel embarrassed, and it was because either of the fear of being too intrusive or the lack of confidence. In hindsight, I regret my behavior. If only I could turn back the hands of time, I would make different choices. I would try to be more open to new experiences and less scared of making mistakes and being misjudged by people.