while(self++) { #20 } // Style over Substance
I was walking by Penn Station when I heard a random passerby say “Style over substance.” I didn’t have any context and we were going in opposite directions, so I didn’t get to hear the completion of her thought. It made me want to reflect, so I decided to talk to some family and friends about it.
We discussed the phrase in terms of how people portray themselves to others versus what kind of people they actually are. My sister, Jennifer, mused that people who fake who they are are untrustworthy. You can’t know how they truly feel about you. My mother, Elaine, noted that people might focus on others superficially when they first meet them because it’s easier. Delving substantively into who someone is takes time and energy.
A family friend, Melanie, made an interesting secondary claim, probably drawing on people’s tendencies to make things black or white: we assume that those who focus on style have no substance and those who focus on substance have no style. I say that we shortchange ourselves by focusing on style over substance. If we judge books by their covers, we might miss out on amazing books just because they don’t look as good. Unfortunately, I should take my own advice. Sometimes, I focus on style too much — guilty as charged. Definitely something for me to think about for the future.
