It was one day, not in particular when I ran across Maya Angelou.

She was talking to Oprah and she said, "When people show you who they are the first time, believe them." For some reason it stuck with me, like a nickname or a picture. It wouldn't go away. Growing up, I saw that quote come to life. Scary but true.

We all fall for the "potential in people." We ignore the NOW in order to have the (MAYBE) potential person. It doesn't have to be a significant other, it can even be a friend.

When you hear about someone getting raped, 90% of the time it's by someone they KNEW.

You have to be CAUTIOUS and not so CLUELESS.

Being a young woman in college is scary, I admit it. When I go to a party, I look around and observe everything. "Where's the exit" "Who is who?" Just everything. Because I've heard the stories and I've seen people and their intentions. It isn't always bad, but don't put anything past anyone.

Let's create a visual to grasp the concept. When a detective is trying to solve a mystery, he gathers all the clues. He pays attention to every minor detail, he let's nothing get past him, he trusts his judgment, and he doesn't second guess himself.

That's how you have to be with people. Very strategic.

Not everyone is who they say they are. Not everyone has your best interest at heart.

In the bible it says,"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."-James 1:19 | NIV |

I was going through a rough patch in my life. I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I didn't know how to fix what was going on.

Someone told me," People usually tell you what they are going to do, and how they are going to do it to you."

THAT WAS IT! I talked more than the other person did.

I ignored the signs. Looking back I'm pretty sure if we all thought about the betrayals or surprising things that people did to us, we would say," Wow, they said they were going to do that." Or "I saw the signs and ignored it."

Warning comes before destruction. You have to see things for what they are and not what you want them to be.

You have to hear what they are saying and not what you want to hear.

I remember this guy, he was nice and what not. He kept eyeing me so I knew he wanted my attention. My friend introduced us and he proceeded to talk to me. He thought I was scared by the way I was looking at him. Little did he know I was listening to everything he said and how he said it. I let him ask the questions, basically I let him do all the talking. I let him reveal who he was without him even knowing it. Then i said, "So what are your intentions with me?" He gave me the craziest look and said, "What?" I said, "Yes, what are your intentions with me?"

Now I know that i'm young and all that but I know for a fact, when someone sees you for the first time, they know EXACTLY what they want from you or what they want to do with you. Not saying it's always bad but people tend to have goals.

Anyway with nothing more to say, he couldn't say anything. He got upset with me and walked away. Sheesh. I was fine with that.

Not everyone is bad, not everyone is good. Always remember to put yourself first and listen more than you speak. I promise that if we all did that more, we could avoid many things in life.

There was a lady and she took a look outside. She saw that a snake was injured in the road. She ran and took the snake in. She nursed the snake back to health . One day the snake bit her and she said, "Why'd you bite me?" He said," You knew I was a snake from the start."

When people show you who they are the FIRST time believe them.