So we’re still judging books and people by their covers – we’re just drawing different kinds of conclusions from the data – less about economic circumstances or purchasing power and more about attitude, competence and overall good judgment.
This is not to say that you’re not always free to ignore other people’s impressions and reactions and make your own choices; it’s just to remind you that these are, in fact, conscious or unconscious choices that you’re making and that all the choices we make come with consequences.
As you get older, you learn that who you are and what kind of life you get to live is largely the sum of all the choices – good or bad – that you’ve made along the way