First impressions

It's not impossible to recover from a bad first impression, but it's hard. I find when entering a new community, it's important to be on one's guard and make a good first impression with everyone in that community. But this is not always possible. If the community is very close-knit and long-lasting, perhaps they don't give you the time of day. But perseverance and focusing on one's interests will eventually gain you respect within that community.

When I entered my grade 7 community, I was in a bad frame of mind. I don't know if I made bad first impressions on everyone or if I just didn't care. Eventually, I found friends and made my own way. What followed was a very long stretch of having friends and being relatively stable. It's not that I think having friends is the most important thing in the world, but I am just concerned with survival (basic) within a community. 

When I entered the community that I'm in now, I followed bad advice, that advice was to ignore my neighbours and not deal with them, for they are weird or bad people. This advice was given to me by my father (whom I don't think highly of). l have noticed a trend in my life that every time I follow his advice or seek his approval, bad things happen.

Anyway, you can surmount a bad first impression or negative entry into a community by focusing on your own hobbies and interests, and distracting yourself from people, until eventually they come around. My hope is that one's own perceptions of a place or community can shift from the first impression they made on you, upon entry.