What Impresses Me

What impresses me?

What does NOT impress me is how someone dresses. Name brands mean nothing to me – other than perhaps accentuating the insecurity of a person who feels the compelling need to boost his self-esteem by wearing name brands.

When I see someone wearing outrageous attire (clothing, jewelry, etc.) just to gain attention, I actually think less of them. What a waste for someone to spend so much time and effort on something so superficial. I suppose they do believe “clothes make the man.”

I also tend to have a bit less respect for a person who shows off outrageous piercings. And I question why older men wear earrings rather than "act their age." I tend to think of men's earrings as a youthful folly or a juvenile sense of "style." I suppose my belief that men should be "men" and not wear jewelry is a sign that I am out of touch, but I am what I am.

I feel tattoos (that I believe most don’t fully appreciate become a PERMANENT part of a person’s body) never enhance the natural look of a person’s body – especially on normally exposed areas.

I also am never impressed by a person’s jewelry (rings, necklaces, watches, chains). The more jewelry a person wears, the more I wonder how they measure their self-worth. Am I supposed to be impressed? I’m definitely not; quite the opposite.

I suppose I am a VERY simplistic person; to me less is more. And I dislike intensely how certain fashion trends try to dictate what I wear! So many trends are driven by the Black culture (LONG shorts below the knee, underwear showing, baseball caps worn backwards or sideways, etc.). Can't people think for themselves? I refuse to wear certain things just because they are considered to be "in style." I suppose I "rebel" against certain fashion trends partly because it IS considered the "in" thing.

I am also NOT impressed by the car someone drives. I actually feel sorry for (and lose some respect for) someone who needs to drive an expensive car. Again I question their insecurity or measure of self-worth.

What DOES impress me? I appreciate and value the content or substance of an individual, not the superficial "image" he tries to project.

I am impressed and admire TALENT – whether it is athletic ability, or trade skills (plumbing, carpentry, etc.), or talent one displays in their profession, and natural or developed skills a person has in music, art, writing, or speaking.

Someone who takes pride in their job and does good work (whether their occupation is considered “important” or “trivial”) gains my respect. I have NO respect for a slacker.

I believe one of the most important qualities of an individual is how he treats other people, and I am VERY perceptive of how people treat others – especially how they treat someone who can do them absolutely no good.

I remember one occasion during a staff in-service day when we were being served lunch by culinary students at a post-secondary institution. George Jones (Dallastown High School’s principal at the time) made a point of sincerely complimenting the server for his work. It took George little effort to do so, but I’m sure it had a huge effect on that young man. That was George’s way. He was always quick to compliment and give credit to others, which motivated his staff to WANT to go above and beyond. Although George had his faults, I always admired how he treated us in this way.

I have absolutely NO respect for arrogant, mean, self-centered or selfish people.

I really admire the CHARACTER of a person. I will never forget something that happened in a tennis match I played back in the late 70’s during the York City/County Tennis Tournament. In those days the tournament drew well over 100 entries and local newspaper coverage was extensive. In the first round, I was playing Mike Mitzel, a local tennis pro who was the number one seed in the tournament. Everyone KNEW he was an excellent tennis player, and he was expected to win the tournament that year. I was playing very well, and the first set went to a nine point tie-breaker. During one point in the tie-breaker, I threw up a lob, and Mike hit an overhead. I said, “Nice shot,” giving him the point. Mike calmly said, “No, it was out.” I couldn’t believe it! Here we were in a first set tie-breaker; Mike was playing me in the first round of the tournament. If I somehow went on to win this tie-breaker and then would get lucky and win the second set, it would have been a HUGE upset and an extremely embarrassing loss for him! The newspapers would have had large headlines about the top seed being knocked out in the first round, yet Mike took that crucial point away from himself after I had given it to him! Mike went on to win the tie-breaker and the match, and he also won the tournament that year. Everyone who played tournament tennis in York County during the 70’s knew Mike was one of the top tennis players in the area, but I will NEVER forget his tremendous display of CHARACTER which I admire much more than his tennis ability.

I do make a conscious effort to get past appearances and not judge others by how they look. I treat everyone with respect and dignity – unless or until they prove to me they don’t deserve my respect.