“Stranger danger!”, it’s an age old rhyme that’s drilled into us from the time we begin to walk and talk, so it’s no wonder people lean skeptical when meeting new people. However, I believe that connecting with strangers is the easiest way to enrich your daily life. A couple years ago I became a server, and the four years prior to that were spent working as a receptionist at a busy salon. In short, I spoke with strangers all day long, and eventually I got pretty good at it. When we were prompted to connect with a stranger I began thinking dreadfully, imaging myself striking up conversation with a suspicious stranger and choking through a few minutes of small talk. Then I realized I had countless conversations with strangers, I met my new classmates and exchanged phone numbers to arrange for study dates, I went on a first date that may yield a second, I talked to a few hundred friendly customers over my weekend shifts, and I spent my weekend eves in bars with thousands of people I’d never see again. All of these experiences were made better because I was friendly and engaged with the people around me, without that human connection all of these moments would be completely mundane, but the strangers gave it meaning. James Hamblin shared an interesting fact in his Atlantic article, that people who know their neighbours live longer lives, if that is true I can count on hitting triple digits.

References: Hamblin, J. (2016, August 25). How to talk to strangers. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/08/civil-inattention/497183/