DEAR DIARY, I MET A STRANGER TODAY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE BY ASHLEY BLACK

Note - This happened last semester, but it has stuck with me for a while now, for reasons you will understand by reading on. There is also an important reason why I am telling this particular story, so stay tuned for that.

I use my phone as a crutch and listening to music in my headphones as my escape method of choice from the outside world. Most people do.

I didn’t really realize, however, just how many details and opportunities and chances I had been missing because of this though - until this happened.

I was in the throes of 351 - constantly thinking about the concepts of the class and turning them over and over in my head like tumbling a stone. It was Saturday, and I needed to get out of my normal lethargic weekend routine, I needed some new stimuli. So, I decided to go on a date with myself.

No phone, no headphones, no safety crutches, and no idea of where the day would take me.

I drove to Cincinnati in the early morning and spent two hours at the art museum - going through every room, looking at everything, and even gathering some inspiration from it. I then hopped back in my car and drove around the general area with the windows down, appreciating the sun and weather. I stumbled upon the conservatory (I love plants) and went there for a while, meditated for a bit, and then left and walked to the top of a hill overlooking the city.

My stomach grumbled in the midst of my contemplation, so I googled some nearby coffee shops and picked one that looked cool and drove to it. It was in a part of Cinci I had never been in before, and it felt weirdly empty and quiet on this day. I walked in, ordered a coffee and settled into the corner table (so I could see the whole room in front of me).

I was pretty hungry at this point, and so when the barista called out my order, I decided to ask him if he had any food recommendations nearby because I wasn’t “from these parts.”

It’s funny because this doesn’t seem like that dramatic of a thing to ask, but I was so caught up in my head VOJ-ing it because usually I don’t ask strangers any questions - I would normally just say “thanks”, grab my coffee, and leave.

But I did it anyways (because screw my VOJ) and then one question led to another, and another, and soon I was having a conversation with this guy for two hours about life, creativity, entrepreneurship, music, and everything in-between. Pretty crazy, right?

It was a pretty quiet and slow day at this coffeeshop so after he would serve a new customer, he’d just come sit down by me and continue our chat. I ended up staying there until he had to close, and I had to drive home because it was getting dark out, but we continued the conversation via text afterwards.

This super impromptu, deep conversation with a cool stranger would have never happened had I:

1. Been too scared to go on a solo excursion in the city

2. Put my headphones in at the coffeeshop and been antisocial

3. Not asked a stranger the simple question of “are there any good places to eat around here?” and then not asked any follow up questions.

It is times like these - the chance encounters that make you question whether there is a higher order to the universe - that reinstate my zest for life and excitement and curiosity about what is lying around every corner that you can’t even begin to imagine.

I am writing this to you in a different coffeeshop in Cincinnati right now, about to head to the infamous coffee shop in this story to say hi to an old friend that just so happened to once be a cool stranger.

If you get anything from this story, let it be this: talk to strangers, ask them questions you are scared to ask, and have a conversation - even if you feel paralyzingly awkward or weird about it. You never know what it could lead to.