This post is one I wrote for Leading Associates in May 2009. I’m proud of the posts I wrote for LA, and I wanted to include them here at Trina Left Iowa.
We live in a world that teaches us from the beginning not to talk to strangers, and it’s not shocking that when we get older we have trust issues with our fellow humans. I am usually skeptical of every other person around me and hope they won’t try to rob or sexually assault me (that might be the scared little small-town girl inside of me). Then there are the times where you let your guard down, and some jerk store takes advantage of you – that’s right, you know who you are car fixer guy in Woonsocket, RI. On the flip side, I find it hard to trust the people I work with on a daily basis. It seems like everyone has some sort of anti-you agenda, and this planet is every man for his/herself.
That is why when I boarded my plane last night from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas I had every intention of sitting down, writing a superb LA article I had promised to Dan (hadn’t a clue what to write) and not talking to any strangers. Enter: adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman. She started talking to me about how she was a little nervous about flying. It seemed harmless enough, so I chatted to her about pretty surface level topics (weather, flying, why we were both in town, etc). After all, I couldn’t start my article during taxiing anyways, right?
Well, I spent the entire flight engaged in non-alcohol-induced conversation with this woman! It was fascinating to me how INCREDIBLY open you can be with a complete stranger. She was in her mid-thirties, recently divorced, recently began reinventing herself and had two sons. She gave me a lot of frank, good advice about marriage and your twenties. Divorce is something that terrifies me to my core, and she answered all of my questions. I told her about myself, and it was delightful to get opinions from someone who doesn’t have a vested interest in my life. There were no awkward tensions or political agendas (ah work drama) – just straight up here is how I see it. I got off that plane feeling like I had just spoken with a breath of fresh air.
I’m not suggesting that everyone should talk to everyone, but I am suggesting that once in a while it is extremely refreshing to have a positive encounter with a complete stranger. It is nice to know that there are still genuinely good and friendly people out there from whom you might even learn something. I’d like to give a big tip of my hat to the adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman onboard the 5:40pm flight from FLL to DFW for a great conversation.