man at the bus stop

Today on my way into campus, I saw something at the bus stop that made me stop and stare. I saw a man at the bus stop, wearing wrinkled clothing, worn down shoes, a thin jacket, and a wool cap. It wasn't him standing there that made me stop and stare. What made me stop and look closer at him was the book that he had in his hand. It was called "Beginner's Guide to STOCKS" with the word stocks in all caps. That's what drew my attention. So, I noticed the man first, and sized him up based on his outward appearance. And then had to reassess my assumptions of him and his life based on the book he was reading. I caught myself making a judgement of someone else and I thought to myself, 'wow. how often do i judge others based on what they are wearing?' It was odd because I was judging 'a book by its cover'. I wondered to myself, what have people thought about me on days where I don't care so much about what I am wearing, or just hurry out the door in a sweatshirt and baseball cap? It's crazy to me that I have to always think about how I am presenting myself to others, but I do. People make assumptions all the time about how you look, how you dress, how you sound, etc. and it was one of those moments this morning, where I caught myself doing it.