To everyone that I see on the daily that I don't acknowledge,
I see you from afar, waving to me. I may wave back with a friendly smile. I may also completely ignore you altogether. It’s not because I don’t like you, I just have no idea who you are and I mean that in the politest way possible.
You may pass by me and say “Hey.” You may get a response back of just “Hi” with no smile or name. You may also not hear anything back at all. It’s not because I didn’t hear you, I just once again have no idea who you could be.
This isn't because I'm oblivious. I'm actually always on the lookout for people I know because, believe it or not, I really do want to talk to you. I just have a very poor memory of faces. To me, faces primarily look the same. I can remember your name no problem. Fun facts? I have them down. Life stories? They will stick with me always. But your face? Once you are thrown into a crowd of people, I will hopelessly not be able to point you out. I simply cannot remember a person’s face the minute they are surrounded by a group due to lack of being able to distinguish differences between facial structures.
To sum it up: to me every person that I pass by looks similar. If you’re short with brown hair and wear flannels a lot, you could in fact be my roommate. An older lady with short, white hair? You’re probably my math professor. And don't even get me started on blondes. Sorority sister? I'll probably think so.
I really can’t tell you what eye color you have, if you have a birthmark, or about any defining features that you may have on your face. None of those factors stick with me after you leave. I can however tell you what you wore that day. I can tell you what hair color you have and how it was styled. I can tell you if you were taller than me or not. I can also tell you that I am always in the mood to talk to you, whoever you may be.
This is something that I’ve always struggled with that has only progressed to becoming worse in college. By being surrounded by so many new people every single day, the amount of interactions you have is limitless. If I’m not expecting to see you, to me you are just another face on campus that I don’t know.
I don't know why I suck at remembering how you look. Trust me, if I could I would. But as of right now, walking around campus, being surrounded by so many people overwhelms my senses and makes it difficult for me to recognize who you are right off the bat.
So to everyone that I pass on the daily that I know and ignore: I’m sorry. It’s really not you, it's me.
Much love,
Someone who just can’t remember faces
P.S: To the people that I do say hello to that are in fact not my friends: I'm sorry. You slightly resemble someone that I know. And by slightly I mean, your hair color is similar and your figure it relatively the same. You may not look like who I thought you were at all in the face, and so when I shoot you that awkward wave and smile, I apologize in advance. It's embarrassing and uncomfortable for both of us (when I finally realize that is).
