Perceptions

"Find yourself someone who sees you like the way you do now, baby." - twothirtyeight

Sometimes I wonder who I am in relation to the way others see me. Two comments in particular have left me scratching my head, realizing that other people do not see me the way I see myself.

the first:

1) My future brother-in-law once said to me, "Leah, you're in to sci-fi..." This was a lead in to some sort of "...so have you seen this movie?" statement. But the confidence with which it was said had me wondering....Am I in to Sci-Fi? Am I SO in to Sci-Fi that someone would just throw that out and assume it was a fact? The way it was stated was like..."Leah, you're a female..." As if it was a fact of who I am.

I like the X-Men movies. I watched a lot of X-Files in high school (btw - what's with all the X's?). I've read Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (that's really more fantasy, but whatever). But, I would never consider myself as someone who is in to Sci-Fi. I don't read sci-fi books, I don't read comic books, I don't watch Star Trek, I don't go to conventions. I have never thought of myself as a Sci-Fi fan. However, maybe my definition of a "sci-fi person" and his definition of a "sci-fi person" are two totally different things. Obviously I am in to sci-fi enough to meet his qualifications of what defines someone as "sci-fi." Weird. Michael and I laugh about it quite a bit - how in to Sci-Fi I am.

the second:

2) Members of my famliy: "Leah, you're not a dog person." What? Who is not a dog person? I feel like this is pretty much like calling someone a cold-hearted bitch. Everyone loves dogs. I love dogs. I think they are smart, cute, and sweet. I smile when I see them. I often wish I had one. To me, that makes me a "dog person."

However, I don't currently own a dog, and if I did - I don't believe in putting clothes on a dog, I wouldn't sleep in the bed with a dog, or let the dogs get on the furniture. I love dogs, but I don't think they are the same as people, and it's not my preference to try to humanize them with clothes or a place in the family bed. Does this make me "not a dog person"? What do people mean when they say that? That I'm not loving? Not responsible enough to have a pet? In fact, one of the reasons I don't have a dog now is I work strange hours and I like to travel. Which means I recognize that I don't have the time and energy needed to properly care for a dog. I recognize this limitation in myself and therefore have not gotten a pet. When my life becomes more stable, I'd love to get a dog. But right now, my way of doing right by the dogs of the world is not to have one. So, I DO love dogs and I AM a dog person.

So there.

Maybe I will find more people who see me the way I see myself. Maybe I'm just a sci-fi loving, dog-hating freak. Or maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.