I have this theory. Not scientifically tested and proven, but a theory nonetheless.
Think about this: There are about seven billion people on the planet and the average person probably encounters hundreds of people each day. This could be at the gym, the grocery store, a restaurant... I mean, think about everywhere you go and who you are surrounded by. We probably spend the same amount of time in the company of strangers as we do our family and friends.
Now, think about how many people you know. Not your Facebook friends list, but all the people you actually know. I mean, if you are encountering hundreds of people 365 different times each year, chances are you passed by someone you now know before your first introduction.
Naturally, all the characters in our lives have come into play in different scenes and acts along the way. Of course, there were those at the hospital on the day of your birth. Your teachers and classmates you would meet at the start of a school year with your newest and hippest lunchbox in hand. The people you met after moving away from home for the first time. The co-workers you weren’t so sure about on your first day on the job. And until you make little humans of your own, we can’t really comprehend the true meaning of our "day ones."
Don’t you ever wonder about the years these people had before you stepped into their lives? I’d like to think that those I care about have an interest in my past and where I came from; a longing to know the moments that have shaped me and fill the pages of my memory.
Well, what if it turned out that they were there along the way? Like in the brief encounters that play in slow motion at the end of a rom-com while Counting Crows or Train serenades the scene.
Or think about how many people you come across on vacation at Disney World or just pass on the highway during your morning commute? What if your college roommate was sitting two rows back on the Tower of Terror when you were eight years old? What if your soul mate sat at that same stop light everyday for years before he or she met you that late night in the dance hall?
My parents met in 1976 and after briefly dating, parted ways due to the struggles long-distance presents. This was the day and age of landlines and handwritten letters. Days I personally long for. But in the summer of 1980, they were both working part-time jobs at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. In 1982, my dad ran across my mother’s old phone number, and they were married two years after. It wasn’t until years later that they put together the puzzle pieces and discovered they had been at the same place, at the same time.
And that’s just my parents. I’m sure you who are reading this have stories similar and more unique.
All this to say: Share your stories. Show up for the day, each and every day, because you have no idea who you might meet at the coffee shop tomorrow morning or who else purchased tickets for the sold-out concert next weekend. But the good news for all of us is that maybe second impressions do exist. Maybe we are all just meeting each other for the second time.
