To Pass or Not To Pass

[Tricia Lee]

In a post on the photo forum I started thinking about how I personally judge reactions from other people, specofically when I'm just passing by them, evaluating those reactions to determine if I am passing. Off the cuff I came up with this. What am I missing or overlooking?

In a casual passerby situation I seem to pass mostly but not 100%.

I judge passing by the looks/attention I get from someone. It varies according to these sorts of responses:

- Doesn't even look at me directly (good)
- Glances at me then moves on (great)
- Looks at me, then scans me from head to toe and moves on with no other reaction (Best)

These responses account for 95%+ of the reactions I get when walking past someone.

By the way, I label that last reaction as best because I feel like they have given me some level of increased attention and did not find anything out of place.

I consider those responses from a passerby as passing. There is no indication they noticed anything out of place. In the last case they were interested enough to pay attention to me, but didn't have anything but a positive or neutral reaction.

Then there is:

- Locks their gaze on my face

That's the one where I think it's likely they have noticed something off, and are evaluating my facial features. Especially if they are looking at me with an expression of anything approaching curiosity. I can't say I every get any overtly negative expressions, but definitely sometimes there is a weird vibe to the attention even if they are smiling.

There are variations though. Sometimes the person is looking me in the face with a sweet and honest smile. Those I count as passing too.

After writing all that I wonder; Why in the world do I subject myself to all this! lol


[BTW, face to face encounters are completely different. I expect to be read face to face, though sometimes I'm not. The majority of the time it's clear that I am read in personal interactions. I just decided a long time ago to be fine with that!]