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Ever since I was five years old, I've been told many times not to speak with strangers, go near strange things, or ever be found alone. These things did frigthen me at a certain time in my life; a time when money came mainly from my parents and when I didn't have a sense of adventure. To date though, I've probably wandered off from family and friends to venture over a hundred times. But I wasn't running away from anything or anyone. No, I was merely venturing out to see what else could possibly be beyond the barriers of my parents ever watching eyes.
And now that I am older and much wiser, I have seen and done things that most would consider out of the ordinary. Take for example this scenario; you walk into a small cafe and see older people reading books or looking over their laptops doing "research" on the economic status of our country (when their really looking at some cute cat video their friend sent them via email). But look again and yet there I am, sitting and writing a book, alone! You'd probably think me mad! What's a young girl like me doing all by herself in a bookstore cafe on a Friday night?!
Yes, I was writing a book, so I wasn't totally alone, but it was remarkable to say the least how many strangers picked up on the fact that I was indeed writing. Now, call me crazy again, but if you have a good judge of character, you can talk to just about anybody and still be alright (by that I mean safe and not gagged with a sock and stuffed in the back of some guy/girl's car).
Just the other day, I found myself venturing (that is the word) out to get my mom's perscription, when suddenly I found myself looking at Newbury Comics, a store that I hadn't been inside in ages. I thought "well, I don't have anything special going on, let's take a look". Let me tell you, when you walk into a store like that in the middle of the day dressed as I was (looked like I was dressed by someone who works in a mall), you're bound to turn some heads. Nevertheless, as I was hit on by just about every sales associate there, I quickly shewed them all away and managed to turn the corner to the club music section of their CD sales. It was there that I met the most interesting person. He turned to me, smiled, and asked, "you like club music?" and of course I said yes. A nice Ugandan gentleman (about the same age as me, but I say gentleman because that's what you call polite guys) who had found me just about as interesting as I had found him. He said "I've never met an American girl who liked club music as much as I do" and we spent a good twenty minutes talking about it! So that just goes to show you, with a good judge of character, and a sense of adventure, you never know what to expect when you go out into the world alone.
Now, before you ask if I got this guys number (I didn't), let me just say that he was the most polite stranger I've ever met! After I left the store, it left me to wonder "why can't everyone be like this?"
I think it's because as children, we either lose our inate sense of wonder or become scared of the rest of the world and try to hide behind our duties and obligations, leaving no time to just be alone. Alone. That is the root of all evil. I think it was Aldous Huxley who showed us in his book Brave New World that with out having some sort of solidarity in our lives, we will forever be dependant on someone other than ourselves. In having said that, I would like to encourage everyone to try to get out and do things alone for once! Go to a movie, go for a bike ride, a run, shopping, anything! Meet people you don't know, see things you've never seen before! Shake up your life before it shakes you, because ever since I started doing things every now and then alone (more frequently than most do), I've felt amazing! I swear, it will make you feel more carefree than any sleepover, date, or family gathering ever could!
And now that I am older and much wiser, I have seen and done things that most would consider out of the ordinary. Take for example this scenario; you walk into a small cafe and see older people reading books or looking over their laptops doing "research" on the economic status of our country (when their really looking at some cute cat video their friend sent them via email). But look again and yet there I am, sitting and writing a book, alone! You'd probably think me mad! What's a young girl like me doing all by herself in a bookstore cafe on a Friday night?!
Yes, I was writing a book, so I wasn't totally alone, but it was remarkable to say the least how many strangers picked up on the fact that I was indeed writing. Now, call me crazy again, but if you have a good judge of character, you can talk to just about anybody and still be alright (by that I mean safe and not gagged with a sock and stuffed in the back of some guy/girl's car).
Just the other day, I found myself venturing (that is the word) out to get my mom's perscription, when suddenly I found myself looking at Newbury Comics, a store that I hadn't been inside in ages. I thought "well, I don't have anything special going on, let's take a look". Let me tell you, when you walk into a store like that in the middle of the day dressed as I was (looked like I was dressed by someone who works in a mall), you're bound to turn some heads. Nevertheless, as I was hit on by just about every sales associate there, I quickly shewed them all away and managed to turn the corner to the club music section of their CD sales. It was there that I met the most interesting person. He turned to me, smiled, and asked, "you like club music?" and of course I said yes. A nice Ugandan gentleman (about the same age as me, but I say gentleman because that's what you call polite guys) who had found me just about as interesting as I had found him. He said "I've never met an American girl who liked club music as much as I do" and we spent a good twenty minutes talking about it! So that just goes to show you, with a good judge of character, and a sense of adventure, you never know what to expect when you go out into the world alone.
Now, before you ask if I got this guys number (I didn't), let me just say that he was the most polite stranger I've ever met! After I left the store, it left me to wonder "why can't everyone be like this?"
I think it's because as children, we either lose our inate sense of wonder or become scared of the rest of the world and try to hide behind our duties and obligations, leaving no time to just be alone. Alone. That is the root of all evil. I think it was Aldous Huxley who showed us in his book Brave New World that with out having some sort of solidarity in our lives, we will forever be dependant on someone other than ourselves. In having said that, I would like to encourage everyone to try to get out and do things alone for once! Go to a movie, go for a bike ride, a run, shopping, anything! Meet people you don't know, see things you've never seen before! Shake up your life before it shakes you, because ever since I started doing things every now and then alone (more frequently than most do), I've felt amazing! I swear, it will make you feel more carefree than any sleepover, date, or family gathering ever could!
