My dad always tells me that within the first ten seconds of meeting someone for the first time they will have made a very important judgment of you which will dictate your relationship/affiliation with that person from that point on. It took me a very long time to agree with him, because I always believed that people shouldn’t make any judgment without actually getting to know you first. As I grew and matured, I realized that both of these points were very important and comprised the central idea of a first impression, good or bad. As a society in general we place a lot of importance on material things, including clothing and accessories, so the way someone presents themselves can usually tell us a few things about them. What I mean by that is if someone comes to a meeting with a Yves Saint Laurent suit and a Movado watch, we can assume they are financially well off. At the same time, someone who comes in with a very cheap suit will usually be perceived as financially deprived. Even though we can make such assumptions from these first impressions about people, it is not usually the financial situation that we should focus on, but more so on what that means in terms of their education and ability/knowledge to conduct themselves publicly in a very professional manner and understand the proper etiquette in different professional environments. For example, the financially sound first person with the expensive clothing and accessories will usually be assumed to know all of these manners and be very educated, meaning it will usually be more expected of him to act in a professional manner, whereas the less fortunate individual might not be as informed, or up to date on professional conduct. So it is very important for any individual to learn to understand these manners, because if you are in the situation of the poorer person you want to exceed expectations that are being set for you by those who are observing you for the first time. Although that’s the case, it is also very important to have a very presentable and clean physical appearance. Although the physical component is very important, it is more important to understand that the mannerisms we display and the way we address others for the first time, especially in professional environments, needs to be excellent at the very least. For example, the moment I saw the Master of Rituals Brother Tyrone Blackman for the first time, I immediately knew she meant business. Although some may think of this essay as a punishment because our pledge class did not present itself in the utmost professional manner immediately, it serves as a very good way of reflecting on the subject of first impressions and realizing that it will affect us significantly in our professional lives, especially given the fact that the majority of us are looking to pursue a business related profession. Now that we are looking to become part of this organization, it is not only important to conduct ourselves in the best way at our gatherings within the fraternity, but also anywhere that we go, because we will be reflecting on the organization and the other members. It also helps to understand that we never know when we will encounter a professional in our desired field in an informal setting, and given our professional conduct, or lack thereof, our potential to obtain employment working for or with that specific person will be affected, positively or negatively. Honestly, I believe this was a great exercise to sit and reflect on this very important topic, because I know that it will affect me this semester, but also throughout my professional career. I will use that first pledge meeting, and this essay assignment as a reminder to maintain the best impression at all times in all environments, professional or informal.