The Stranger Gap

The crush of November, with its constant supply of exams and papers, has buried me so deeply that I, unfortunately, have not had the time to update as of late. I can say that the guilt has been weighing on me for quite a while now, and I am happy to get it off my shoulders now.

I was walking to work on Wednesday of this last week, making my way down Main mall, with its sweeping lawns and majestic Canadian flag at the very end, when I realized just how many people I was surrounded by. I realized that there were countless people who I shared a great deal with that I would never know, and I got a small little pain in my heart. It was I then that I decided to start making a conscious effort to make eye contact with as many of my passing peers, and notice as much about them, as possible. In the ten minutes I spent walking down the mall I must have locked eyes with over one hundred people. I noticed small things, like steaming cups of coffee and scratched up cell phones, and big things, like one girl who was clearly on the brink of tears, and another who seemed to glow in happiness.

I realized that there was little more I could do than forcing these tiny periods of eye contact, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to cross that gap. So here it is.

I am going to try to get more people this year, and I think you should too. We are all in the same, rather gigantic, boat together and I think we could all use someone else to lean on. We aren’t strangers, we’re neighbors, classmates, partners, study buddies, and most of all, peers. We shouldn’t spend these four years afraid of each other.

So, if you are reading this, and you happen to see me making my way across campus or sitting beside you in class, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. I will try to start speaking up myself, and maybe, we can jump across that awkward gap together.

(I have yet another four papers to write, it is going to be a long week.)