Profiles

Profiles.....what do you think about them?

And which ones am I talking about?

The facial ones, not the written ones.

In the last few days, I have found myself seeing people from the side, sort of two dimensional.

On Thursday night, while listening to a concert at the Wigmore Hall, I noted that I was sitting in line with the first violin.  She looked so familiar, like a family friend that we've known since before us children were even born, as our parents had gone to school together.  So she was 'that' familiar.  But when the first violin stood up and took a bow, her face was completely different.  The profile did not match the front view.  It was almost disappointing.

And then today, while at a children's concert, I noticed a father sitting, watching attentively, absorbed in music and the audience participation.  The quartet humorously interacted with the inquisitive children, catching their curious minds with a variety of music for stringed instruments.  But again, it was his profile that held my attention. It seemed almost statuesque, perfect.  I thought about trying to see him face on, but ended up not remembering to do so.  

This all made me think about the parallels between this and what people write when posting a personal profile, an advert for themselves, most often on a dating website.  I speak from experience, as I spent many months trying to utilise a couple of the more interesting dating websites, with very little success, other then an awful lot of first dates.  A lot of the men were nothing like their photos, some were taller, shorter, not as attractive, with less hair, with more weight.  It was a bit like seeing the 3 dimensional view in a fairground mirror.  Slightly warped.

It's funny how our perception changes in a matter of degrees.