College students have a lot on their plate at times. It involves managing time and being responsible with how you spend it. I had an interview for an internship in a part of town that I don’t visit very often. It was in Lower Queen Anne of Seattle and when I tried to plan my bus route there, Google told me it would take 40 minutes to get there. And as my spirit animal April Ludgate always says:
“Time is money, money is power, power is pizza, and pizza is knowledge, let’s go!”
I didn’t have time to spend an hour traveling back and forth because that was going to be a waste of time, and most importantly pizza, so I called an Uber to get me there on time and in the least frazzled manner.
The first thing I always look at is who is driving my Uber. I know these drivers are getting paid by the mile/minute/time of day, but I want to show them gratitude for saving my butt in dire situations right away, so I learn their names and I say thank you upon stepping into the car.
My first driver on that day was named Wanjiku. I stepped into the car like usual and thanked her for her time, and asked her how her morning was going. She stepped on the gas and remarked on how spot-on my pronunciation was of her name- it was surprising. I didn’t think it was a big deal, I just took a stab at it phonetically, to which she replied that most people don’t even try. They look puzzled at the assortment of letters that are unfamiliar to them and just get in the car, sitting in silence.
The rest of the way to my internship I learned a lot about Wanjiku. I learned she was from Kenya, she told me what it was like living there and moving to Seattle. She was very open, friendly, and liked talking about where she was from and how life is different here and there, and in the South. I genuinely enjoyed talking with her and learning about life in Africa from a local’s perspective was fascinating and felt refreshing. I thought I was annoying her with all my questions but she said it was nice that I even cared.
On the way back, I had a similar experience with my driver Selamneh. We had an even deeper conversation in which he talked about the ignorance a lot of Americans have towards Africa as a whole continent. It’s not all Sahara and mud huts, there’s big cities full of the same technologies we have in the states, there’s light skin natives as well as dark ones, and there’s different climates and culture anywhere you go. Most importantly, we talked about the future, both ours and the world’s. He encouraged me to continue writing as my way to try and make the world a little bit of a better place. He told me written word is never going to go away and it’s never going to stop being powerful even if it doesn’t seem like it is most of the time. Conversely, I voiced my support in him making it in business, which he was going to school for. Basically, here were two perfect strangers that were just human to each other in the 20 minutes they had.
Moments where strangers can cross paths with each other and be kind, be grateful, be respectful, and be intrigued by one another deepens the human experience. We all want to be accepted and seen as valuable in this world and it doesn’t take much to make it happen. It takes some non-superficial questions and a genuine interest and curiosity.
In the light of all the shootings and brutality towards innocent African Americans, as well as other bouts of discrimination that come in different forms, I wondered what I should do as a white female to show my support. Do I write articles? Is it enough to voice my grief over innocent lives lost or changed forever? Do I go to Black Lives Matter rallies? Do I even belong there? Do I volunteer my time with another organization/movement/charity? What am I supposed to do?
Maybe it’s not necessary to stress so much. Maybe it’s just enough, one day at a time, to reach out to strangers you come across and offer kind words and understanding. The important part is to not be afraid to learn something from someone different than you. Embracing and accepting that difference on an individual basis, and encouraging the same in others, might be what brings us closer to that social equality that we all want for people of all color, religion, sexuality, and class.
I’m still learning every day, especially in terms of what it takes to be a responsible and socially aware adult and member of society. What my Uber drivers taught me in the short time we had is that you should always be looking to learn and looking to be kind.
