People Perspective

Photo credit: Me. San Antonio Riverwalk

You just never know…

A few years ago, as a college sophomore, I had lunch with a couple of my elementary school teachers. It was a surreal experience; teachers are people we never really get the chance to understand or appreciate. One of them I adored as a child. The other, a former nun, I generally disliked for whatever reasons serious, intellectual people don’t easily endear themselves to small children. But sitting at lunch that day, I found myself increasingly drawn to the teacher I once grumbled about. The 50-something woman picked me up from work in her stick-shift SUV and turned out to be an incredibly interesting, well-read and well-traveled woman with a sharp mind and a delightfully dry sense of humor. 

I recalled the lunch meeting last night after leaving the art exhibit opening of a former high school teacher. It’s not often you get to glimpse into those kinds of personal worlds, although for me the opportunity has exploded since I got engaged to someone who now teaches at my old high school. (Having beers with your former biology teacher is quite the experience.)

The encounters involve getting introduced to people I already know all over again, and have taught me to maintain perspective with everyone I meet. It’s hard to become aquatinted with people on the deep level that allows room for critique. Without descending into dangerous naivete, the lunch taught me to withhold judgment of others, because I may not have the capacity or closeness to know them for who they really are.