People Are Beautiful

My Dad's always telling me that the biggest lessons you learn in college won't happen in a classroom, and he's right.  T-minus two months until graduation - college over. Naturally I've spent a lot of time lately reflecting on my last four years and thinking about the lessons and what-not that I've learned. The biggest lesson I have learned:

People are beautiful. 

One of my classic pass-times on campus (not as enjoyable without my creeper-in-crime, Meghan Johns, but I digress) is watching people because there is always something new because everyone is different. And difference is a beautiful, beautiful thing to me.

For as long as I can remember I have had this weird magnetic pull for random people to talk to me (one of my favorite things about me). I collect stories from people - a lot of the people I talk to I see once and will never see again, many times I don't even know their names they just....talk. Lives are beautiful and everyone has a different story and I am privileged that people are so willing to tell me about some of the pieces that have made up their own little life puzzle.

This is all at the forefront of my mind tonight because I met a random lady at my favorite coffee shop and we struck up a 20-minute conversation and she was so unique and totally different from me and just...it was so naturally, beautifully orchestrated. It's so refreshing and awe-inspiriting to realize how many people are in the world that aren't me.

Try it - strike up a conversation with someone different. Listen. I know it's natural to compare someone to yourself, but when you do that consciously recognize that it isn't to determine "who is better," but rather "how are we connected?" We aren't in competition with each other, we are in complement with one another. And it's beautiful.