Cada Uno Sabe Donde Le Aprieta El Zapato

Juan Alanis

15 years ago

Every Person Knows Where Their Own Shoe Tightens

Alright, if you’re reading this translation and thinking “what?” allow me to elaborate. Meeting people is a natural part of life – obviously – and, fortunately or unfortunately, you can’t really avoid the act of socializing. Sure some of us prefer it less than others, and depending on our mood on any given day we may be better adept at different times to put up with people. That said, another popular saying closely related to this dicho is you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

But is that fair? Should we really not give others a second chance to make a first impression? I know a lot of people believe that when you are first introduced to somebody, the way in which they act towards you in that first instance is the most accurate representation of who they really are. That may be true. Yet what about when we are having a bad day, when we just got fired, dumped, and evicted on the same day and we just so happen to run into an old friend who wants to introduce us to somebody? If you are blessed with the ability to do an about face and not give any impression of being in a funky mood, I say consider yourself lucky!

For the rest of us, say you give a breezing hand shake, you don’t bother asking how either of them are doing, and worst of all, you leave without even saying nice to meet you. More than likely they’ll walk away grumbling about how rude you are and the person you just met won’t have a very positive impression of you. Not always the case, but for the sake of this blog please appease my scenario. Here is where the dicho comes in. Only we know what we are carrying on our shoulders and how that affects our interactions and relationships with others.

Even the person with the strongest support system in their friends and family will choose to keep certain things private in their lives. Be that to protect their loved ones from pain, to save face by avoiding an embarrassing truth, or simply to keep up appearances. These little secrets catch up to us. They do, and consciously or subconsciously they affect our overall morale and outlook on life.

It’s like the saying you never know what goes on behind closed doors. We don’t have a window to see into the minds and hearts of others. To know what suffering, heartache or fears they are carrying around with them and how they affect their actions. So yes, only you know where your shoe tightens. Where it tugs and pulls, what part of your foot is raw, and what emotions bother the fit of your shoe.

Perhaps giving someone a second chance is not such a bad thing.