The way to discover someone’s true self can be interpreted in many different ways. Though we shouldn’t, we sometimes judge people based on their exterior and at times that can be accurate, but for the most part, it can lead you to believe things that aren’t true. Besides all the cliché ways that reveal someone’s innermost being like how they spend their time and money, or how they respond in difficult situations; here are some ways to think about how we view others and most importantly, ourselves.

You can tell a lot about a person by how they take their coffee. I personally love coffee, talk about it too much and drink a minimum of three cups a day, but I’ve noticed the varying ways all my friends consume their coffee. I find it fascinating how many options, choices, and flavors people can choose from, and then it’s interesting to see how they actually find the “Perfect Coffee Recipe” that works for them. On occasion, we try a new flavor, a novel add-in, or a different coffee shop and like it better than the original. This can be symbolic to how we “change” or grow into more maturity in who we are meant to be. White with an abundance of cream and sugars, black roasted with the lingering aftertaste of bitterness, beige with just the right amount of savory caffeine, or none at all (God forbid). No matter your coffee preference, it’s absorbing to discover the way those around you take their coffee.

You can tell a lot about a person from their handwriting. I’ve noticed that the way people write can correlate to their personality or even a written form of the way they speak. Disoriented and carelessly scrawled, orderly uppercase and extensive, sweeping elegant cursive, or rounding each lowercase letter with precision; I find that the way someone writes is a very personal form of showing who they are. Not only in the words they write, but in the physical structure of their thoughts as well.

You can tell a lot about a person by their choice of ice cream flavor. Maybe I just like talking about food and finding the resemblance between it, but there are millions of ice cream flavors and someone’s selection out of these can reveal something about them. Whether you are daring and try the unpopular bizarre flavors, simple and reserved choosing vanilla or chocolate, or extravagant and add an excessive amount of toppings and syrups.

You can tell a lot about a person from their eyes. The eyes really are the windows to the soul, and inside someone’s eyes can hold the secrets of their past or the dreams of their future. Someone's eyes can reveal the words they are too afraid to speak out loud and they give a direct connection to emotions; mysterious, darting, glaring, dreamy, bloodshot, compassionate, distant, seductive, questioning, wide or gentle, when I look into someone’s eyes I feel what they feel. Their emotions become mine, even if for only a second. No two eyes are the same, not even your own. Looking into someone’s eyes is a very intimate way of walking into their universe. You may not be able to see what they see, but each set of eyes carry their own story, and the only way to read it is through intrinsic discovery.

Every decision those around me make, I use to piece them together and form a picture in my mind of who they truly are. I will paint you with iced coffee, green eyes, swirls that connect into endless arcs of cursive, and the vibes of your energy. I will cover your canvas in almond pistachio ice cream, blue eyes and the incandescent light of your radiance. All of these things formed as one are what paints you into the art people see when they look at you. Do you see Van Gogh’s Starry Night, John Bramblitt’s Seascape, or Night in Paris by Leonid Afremov when you look into my eyes?