along the way

Over the past eight weeks I have become strikingly aware and appreciative of people who flow into my life and whom I get the chance to form deep connections with.  As I get older and constantly enter new spaces filled with new people, I’m beginning to realize that connections with other individuals are greatly important- I think- more important than we realize, as I believe them to be some of the greatest passageways to opportunity.

On the first day of my summer job program, we got put into groups of three program counselors. This would be our group for the whole 8 week program. This would be our base when handling 30 new children every 2 weeks. I got put with Theo and Shelby. Shelby is a PHD student at Boston College for Irish Lit. She grew up in North Carolina but attended school in NYC playing D1 soccer. Theo, is a 19 year old university student from the Uk studying Art History and Politics of sorts, he has lots of tattoos and at first I could not understand a word he was saying.

First impressions are a funny thing-sometimes your gut tells you the right thing straight off the bat, and your first impression, good or bad, remains true.

But they can also be wildly wrong.

I experienced the latter.

After our brief introductions I remember thinking this was going to be a long eight weeks. I didn’t think Shelby, Theo, and I would get along at all.

Funnily enough, these two people became some of my closest friends during the program.

I’m not sure what really changed in that first week, but before I knew it I discovered Shelby and I were strikingly similar in our tastes and interests and thinking life is all about ratios, and Theo and I were having funny and captivating conversations more often than not about cigarettes, musicals, and mac n cheese.

I liked these people.

As the program continued I not only became closer with Shelby and Theo, but also, the other Pc’s that surrounded me. I found conversations flowing naturally late into the night, and never felt socially awkward when talking to any one of them.

I met lots of cool people from NYU who convinced me to study abroad in Sydney as they shared of their own travels there.

I added to my list of people I know from Boston.

I found similarities in passions for food among my coworkers.

I learned about where these people came from, where they are now, and where they wish to go.

And we all bonded over the shared job of dealing with teenagers whom we loved but also hated at times.

I was connecting.

As a natural introvert, I sometimes have to push myself to say the hello and go out with a group of people. I can be perfectly happy doing many things alone and having a whole day to myself again and again.

While this can be a heathy trait, I also have been recognizing that when I hang out with people who truly fill my cup, are energy givers, and teach me new lessons and new walks of life-I never ever regret it, and I always learn something-anything new, about me, them or us.

As these two months flew by I found myself getting really close with a handul of my colleagues and realizing that I’ll miss their everyday presence in my life back home. It’s always an odd feeling when a certain chapter comes to an end after interacting with a broad stroke of individuals because you never know who you will actually keep in touch with.

Whether its the end of elementary school, high school, or a summer program there’s always that lingering thought in the back of your head of if you will talk to any of these people at all once the program ends.

But what I have also found over the past few years, is the good connections stay. The ones you need stay. Even if it’s just a swipe up on an instagram story here and there, or  a reconnection  five years later, the ones you need, stay, remain, and always return when you need them most.

So as much as I’m sad to be leaving this group of people, I’m also excited to see how some of them remain in my life, and how others will become memories that stick with me forever. 

This might seem like a whole lotta hoopla, or a moo point. And maybe part of it is the fact that I’m running off of 4 hours of sleep, an apple and a  turkey stick, a Dunkin coffee,  and a 8am plane ride back to LA while writing this,  but ultimately, I think that it’s a whole lotta hoopla that we gots to be reminded of.

Don’t be afraid to make your connections.

Remember to keep your connections.

Never be afraid to reach out.

The worst that happens these days is being left on delivered.

The other option, is a whole other door opening to a whole  new universe of growing connections, opportunities, and love.