First Impressions

First impressions can often be misleading. I for one am not very good at making them, at all. I always trip out on people's perceptions of others, vs what the others are actually thinking of themselves. It trips me out that so often we can have such completely differnet perspectives of oursevles vs what others see or feel about us. I wonder what it is about me that makes me so hard to "read" or get to know. I have been told on many occasions over many years that I come across as arrogant, unapproachable, obnoxious (guilty), aloof, mean, cocky, and other things along those lines. Now, I can understand them to some degree, especially years ago when I walked around with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, and wasnt exactly bursting with love at the seams. What I dont get though, is how can I change the way I make first impressions? People always seem so surprised when they actually start to get to know me that I carry a level of depth much deeper than they ever would have thought. That I have a heart, that I am emotionally driven, that I have a deep passion for life, and love, and experiences. I wonder if I do this all on purpose as some sort of subconcious effort to screen out people. Either way, it is always a trip to me when I notice it in someone else, that they are deeper, or different that I would have thought they would be, and then the same is said about me.
It is something that has been on my mind lately. Sometimes we arent even aware of how we are pereceived or how we come across, and the reasons for the perceptions people get. Perhaps it is a lack of awareness, or confidence, or an insecurity that doesnt allow us to see it. Other times, we may think it is simply normal, and everyone is like this or that, when in fact we are unique in some regard and not giving ourselves credit for it.
hmmmm.