Many years ago, I was accompanying a friend to pick up her little girl, about two at the time, at daycare. When she and her mom came around the corner, she saw me and exclaimed in an excited voice, "Daddy!" then ran and threw herself into my arms. This was incredibly awkward for the women standing behind the counter of the lobby who actually knew her daddy, which just made it funnier for her mom and I.
Because I was a male figure in her life that played with her and helped to care for her, I was a daddy. See, at that age, kids tend to make broad generalizations, not bothering to discern the difference between things and just lump them all under the same label. Then they get older and start to understand the concepts of individual identity. The problem is that people sometimes seem to regress as they get older and their lives become more complex.
While it isn't a terrible thing all the time, it can lead to some real problems if it becomes the norm. It leads us to form opinions about people and situations based on past experiences. If it's something like having gotten food poisoning at a particular restaurant, that's not such a bad thing, but if it's not trying a new restaurant because you had a bad experience at a similarly-themed one, that's another. At best, it keeps us from experiencing new people and things, which has been shown to stave off the mental effects of aging. At worst, it can lead to things like bigotry and stagnation.
So branch out. Approach each new person and experience as it is, rather than limiting yourself and your possible enjoyment with preconceived notions. Life is about living and there's no sense in limiting your options with self-imposed barriers.
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