First impressions don’t mean everything. In fact, first impressions don’t even have to be good impressions to establish a positive relationship.

An article published in Forbes says nonverbal cues influence us about four times more than anything we might be able to say.

When I first met my best friend, I noted how she was dressed and acted before we’d even spoken.

It was the day of Hall Orientation Team training last summer, and my look screamed “Hey, I just rolled out of bed.”

I knew no one so I just observed. A tan blond girl walked in, hair curled, makeup done and wearing a dress and cowboy boots. She walked around before the meeting, chatting with a few people.

Immediately my thoughts were negative, but it turns out my first impression of her was wrong.

We bonded when we hauled multiple futons up four flights of stairs, spent days and nights together laughing and crying, shared our lives with one another and are now best friends.

She has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever come to know, and I don’t know where I’d be without her.

First impressions don’t always have to be accurate. If that person is meant to be in your life, it will happen regardless. Don’t stress about seeming fantastic the first time you meet someone. Chances are you’ll be able to show them the person you truly are.

We spend far too long planning, prepping and pampering, when the impression itself takes only seconds.

The parts of our brain that evaluate situations are active when we encounter new people, causing us to make a quick judgements of them.

The best way to impress someone is not to make a good first impression, but a lasting impression.

First impressions are rarely accurate. They’re an unfair assumption and unjust judgement of a person’s true character.

Society deems we make a  good first impression for job interviews and such, but as a social part for our everyday lives it isn’t worth the hassle. For how quick they happen, it makes much more sense to focus on giving a good lasting impression versus an short-term inaccurate one.

Mary Ochs is a columnist for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].