Note to Self: Never Judge a Book by its Cover, Ever Again!!!

I'm pretty sure you have heard of the maxim "Don't judge a book by its cover". How many times have we (you and I) been guilty of judging people incorrectly and erroneously? 

Have you ever driven someone away, someone you didn’t like at first?! You know that thing about judging a book by its cover it’s true, sometimes you got to read the whole thing and even then you might not know the whole story, this is what I’ve learned today!

We’ve always been told that it’s what’s inside that counts, and not to ‘judge a book by its cover’ so to speak. And this is indeed a useful tip in life! Looks can always be misleading, and usually it is indeed what’s inside that counts!

Opinions you hold can be quickly altered after closer inspection and interaction with the person or thing! In fact our perception of looks usually  alters with time, based largely on the other characteristics of your subject matter. How true… 

We judge others based on our pre-conceived idea. We judge others based on our misconception. And sometimes we also jump to conclusions about other people simply based on their looks.

And sad to say, I'm guilty of this too. Today, as I was traveling in the train to KLCC, I was taken in by a conversation that was taking place between the girl who was facing me and someone she was talking to.

I would not have paid attention to her if not for the turn of conversation that unfolded.

I had dismissed the girl from mind as I had emphatically and erroneously branded her (mentally) as a maid. Her dressing and demeanour clearly lived up to my misconception of thinking she was just another maid in Malaysia, who's out with a friend, on their off day.
She was with a friend, who looked like a typical maid. They were both dressed decently, nothing outlandish nor bizarre, in a typical jeans and t-shirt outfit.

My reverie was broken when her phone rang. I did not pay much attention to her until I heard her speaking.

"Hi Encik Ramlan. Yes. I'm interested in purchasing all that land." I was riveted from this point on.

And she continued chatting in a mixture of English and Malay. Her conversation revolved around her interest in buying massive palm oil land.

Oh my! My brain froze! I felt hugely embarrassed and awfully guilty for judging her erroneously. I was mesmerised by how educated and intelligent she sounded despite her simple looks. She may have looked like a maid (thousand apologies once again for being so judgmental), but her looks belied her true self.

As I alighted the train, I was thinking with wry amusement of why I should never again judge a book by its cover, never again judge others based on simply their appearance.

As I continued walking towards KLCC, I kept chiding myself repeatedly for
being quick to judge others. If only you could hear me lady, "Thousand apologies!"