Several nights ago I was sitting down with some friends and we were talking about how often we see familiar faces on campus. We all thought it was interesting that every time this occurs we briefly acknowledge the other person, then keep walking past them. Each encounter is basically always the same. “Hey, how are you?”, “good, how are you?”, and typically ends with “good, have a nice day!”. It feels a bit scripted. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. People tend to be in a hurry and don’t have the time for lengthy conversations. However, I am trying to imagine how different my relationships with people would look if we both answered honestly. I’m not saying you should pour out your life story while waiting in line at Starbucks, but revealing a more about yourself is a huge step in deepening surface level friendships. If you’ve had a bad morning or have been struggling recently, tell them! If you are doing fantastic, why not share your joy? What is the worst that could happen? Someone will know more about you than before? You may understand someone else better than you previously did? These all sound like beneficial things for human connection.
Instead of simply being short and polite, let's all take a little bit more time to be a little bit more human with one another.
Be Known!
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