Perceptional process is real.

                It’s interesting to think how much our mind processes without us noticing. After learning about perceptional process I became aware of how much I do it. It’s not until I had to think about when I’ve done it that I realized the steps that I take daily. For my job, I do it all the time, I was just never aware of how much I do it. When it comes to my daily life it’s harder for me to actually pinpoint when I do it. One time that I can apply this too is when I tried to give food to a homeless man in San Diego.

 My best friend and I went to San Diego for our other best friend’s graduation. He was graduating the Marines and we were so excited to finally meet with him again. After 4 months of not being able to communicate with him, we all reunited and began to explore the city of San Diego. The three of us were walking around trying to find this famous pizza place that was mentioned to us. On the way to the pizza place I noticed this man sitting outside a Starbucks. He was wearing worn out clothes, he looked like he hadn’t had a shower in ages, he was smoking a cigarette and had an empty Starbucks cup with him. As we passed by him he smiled but did not ask for anything. A little ways down was the pizza place, and so we walked inside and ordered our food. The whole time I could not get this man out of my head. All I kept thinking about was how hungry he must be. I looked out the window and saw him walking back and forth several times. I then got up and bought a giant slice of pizza in order to give to this man. A little later on, the homeless man came in to use the bathroom, I thought “OK, this is it, this man deserves this pizza!” I then waited patiently for this guy to come out of the bathroom. As soon as I saw him I called out to him and said “Here you go sir, I hope you like pepperoni”. The man grabbed the pizza and smiled, but looked a little confused. As he began to walk out, the workers of the pizza place called out his name and said hello. He then goes “Yeah I just came in to make a quick stop and now I have a pizza”. I then thought that maybe this man wasn’t homeless at all and that he just might be a local. My friends then began to laugh at me and said “You just confused him for a homeless man”. I was so in shock all I did was sit there and look out the door. Just writing about this story makes me laugh. I still don’t know if this guy was really homeless or not but the perception that I made because of his outward appearance made me believe that he was in need. The way I processed the whole thing landed me on the conclusion that he was homeless. As I write this, I have a smile on my face because I don't think he actually was. In the end I like to think I did my part, but it would of been better for me to analyze the whole situation without making a quick assumption.

 

(This is my best friends and I walking back from the pizza place in San Diego, CA :'D)