Forming Impressions

This semester I am taking an Interpersonal Communication course. Based off of my first day of class, I am confident when I say it will more than likely be my favorite course of the semester. My professor for the course began the first day of class in much different way compared to the usual: "Hi, my name is..., let's take attendance, here's the syllabus, ok...see ya next class! routine."

Nope, this first day was unlike any other. My professor did something that I consider to be very out of the ordinary for the first day of class. She did politely introduced herself; however, after that she immediately instructed us to get into groups of four and come up with a list of words and ways that we would use to describe her. She specifically wanted us to put down personality traits, teaching style, hobbies, and anything else we saw fit in describing her.

After my group members introduced ourselves to each other, we began creating a list. I couldn't help but wonder that this particular exercise was about how quickly a person forms opinions about another person. We had about 5 minutes to create a list, then my professor made a massive list on the board before erasing all of the things that did not fit her. We were left with an idea of who she is as a person, what she likes to do, and how she chooses to teach.

She concluded by telling us that the moment we meet a person, we begin forming impressions about them without even realizing it. What was funny about that comment was that I was thinking the same exact thing as she sad it. I was surprised that it was not something I had ever thought about on my own. I'll admit, I am a judgemental person; however, I give every person more than one chance to make a positive impression on me so they have an opportunity to remove themselves from the category I automatically placed them in.

I found this whole concept to be rather interesting. I'm anxious to see how the semester unfolds and to see what type of an impression this particular professor makes on me the second, third, and fourth class periods because I have a feeling it will change. If she teaches in an interactive manner like she did on the very first day, I know this will be a truly enjoyable class for me.

Take a moment to think about this. What type of impression do you leave on those you meet? How quickly do you form impressions about others? Are the impressions you form positive, negative, or both? What can you do to ensure that you are consistently making a positive first impression?

Top 10 Moments of my First Day: Fall 2011

Today was my first day back on campus at UW-L. It was a bittersweet feeling returning to classes because I've had an incredible summer and am not quite ready for it to officially end. Luckily for me, my day was filled with moments that made me embrace my day. I think that this has been my best first day of any semester thus far. Below I have recapped my "top 10" moments of my day:

1. Finding a good parking spot. I commute to school and have to deal with parking every day, but today it was super easy.

2. Seeing a familiar face the second I walked on campus. It may not seem like that big of deal, but as I was making my way towards campus this morning I couldn't help but think back to that same moment last fall. That fall I was lonely and didn't have many friends because I was a transfer student and new to UW-L. Today, I literally reached the first block of campus and saw a familiar face. That continued all day which means UW-L feels like home to me even more than it did last semester.

3. Having my first class in the new building. For the last year, I watched as construction workers put in countless hours of work into a new classroom building. All I can say is that they did a fantastic job!

4. Beautiful weather. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to enjoy as I walked from class to class.

5. No statistics class! A year ago today I got to begin each of my days with a statistics class. Math is my least favorite topic so it was wonderful to not have to return to that same classroom this fall.

6. Lunch hour. I got into a little bit of trouble on my lunch hour. I met my friend, Ben, for lunch at my favorite bar. This of course was not the smartest idea, but now I can say that I did two shots in between my classes, and it was fun!

7. Riverside Park. After lunch, I was able to spend an hour walking around beautiful Riverside Park. I developed an even deeper appreciation for where I live and how gorgeous it is.

8. Mary Kay makeover with Kailin. My good friend, Kailin, and I went and got Mary Kay makeovers before my last class of the day. It was fun to be pampered and enjoy time with an amazing person.

9. Getting out of my 3 hour night class 2 hours early. This one is self-explanatory.

10. Feeling ready to take on the semester. This semester is going to more than likely be my most challenging semester yet. Not only are my classes going to be hard, but they are also going to be time consuming. I'm confident that I can find the balance I need to find between school, studying, work, my horses, sleep, and friends.