I read something I found quite interesting the other day, but didn't stop to think about it much. Not until I realised how true it held to myself, when I applied it to a class I take that I don't like.

It touched on how a lot of people judge, assume. We assume the person over there is This because of That, and if we never see them again, the impression will stick. Even among the open-minded, it's hard not to judge. Stereotypes make their way into society too well and we're all aware of them, being aware of it is enough for the subconscious mind to jump to a conclusion. But this, I knew. It's the part that emphasised leaving people or things as a clean, blank slate until you learn things about them rather than filling it in yourself. I was surprised at how foreign a concept that was to me when I really thought about it; surprised at how much I assume even though I'm aware that I don't know it. I tend to think when people (who are able to read my friends only journal) say they don't know me very well, that they're rather silly and - of course they know me well! But then reading this, I realised how little I do disclose, even in my emotion-filled gushes and my rants. I don't think many people really do know what's going on in my mind, could predict how I would react to a situation, what I would like (and I've been noticing that more when present-times come around ^^; ). I don't talk about what's going on in my mind a lot to people other than my boyfriend. It makes me feel like there's a lot to do in the world and not enough time to do it all, it makes it feel more exciting.

When it comes to people, as I explained to Craig - whom apparently I am a lot better at explaining to than I am explaining it to a blank text box, I tend to "pigeon-hole" groups of people. If this person reacted this way to that situation, and they have this, do that and think that way, another person who also has this, does that and thinks that way will probably react the same way. It's not stereotyping per se, as the people could be in completely different social stereotypes or just be different in general, but it's those experiences where I've witnessed similarities that I draw the expectation from. But why?

I take a particular class at university that I thought would teach me a lot about its specific subject-matter. I thought it would be interesting and wonderful. I made a lot of assumptions, and put aside what I potentially didn't like; I ignored it and decided to, essentially, conjure up my own perfect class to take that would be brilliant, it would be lovely and I would never be upset with it. Why did I do that? Why did I flat out deny the facts - automatically? Things like this really make me think, and as much as I think I'm learning about myself, I can't help but wonder whether I'll learn something that denies all my ideas' plausibility. But then, wouldn't I deny them?

Apparently I really love my dream world. ♥