I don’t see people – Day 1 #BEDM

When I meet people, I don’t see them.

I mean, I do see them. I know they are there. But if you asked me later, when they were gone, to describe them, then the description you’d likely get is WHAT they are, and not what they look like.

Recently, a friend said to me, when describing someone I’d met a few days before ‘she’s the one with blonde hair, a bit on the larger side…you know the one’.

Except I didn’t know the one. No-one had stood out to me as being bigger or smaller than anyone else. And unless someone’s hair is memorable, and I’ve spent time pondering it (we’re talking rainbows here, or interesting plaits or something) then that isn’t going to mean much to me either.

It’s a bit of a problem, to be honest. I’ll go to meetings, I meet people, and then I go to meetings again and unless someone is described as ‘the one who had interesting theories about oak trees’ or ‘that person who brought up the issue of cycling desire lines’ then I most probably won’t remember that a) I’ve met them before or b) if I have met them before, who they are and how they fit in to the general picture of things.

(HOORAY for whoever invented name badges though).

So, I tend to write a lot of things down. And I tend to spend a lot of time studying people, trying to remember stuff about them that WILL make it into my ‘I know who you are’ memory.

Often, I might spend quite a long time staring at people without realising, trying to write them into my mind.

I’ve been at my current job 9 months now, and I’m only just starting to remember who everyone is. But I still couldn’t mostly tell you what they are.

That’s ok, isn’t it?

It’s something you didn’t know, anyway.

 

(and if I’ve met you before, and then again, and acted like I didn’t know you then this is why. Tell me again about those interesting things you said, and I’ll remember. Or have rainbow hair. Either would work). 

 

This post is written as the first day of #BEDM, which means ‘Blog Every Day In May’ – a challenge created by Rosalilium and one that I will attempt to complete…see you tomorrow!