Watch and listen

Have you ever stopped to think about how many people have come into you life, for any amount of time, and then suddenly they weren't there? Looking back, it's amazing the number of people I've known, whether they be people I called "friend" or those that I simply knew the face of.

Does this bother any of you? Why don't we think "Man, I wonder what happened?" or "I didn't think life could move so quickly!" Giving it some reflection there are people that used to be by my side, some even everyday that now simply are not. And I'm sure there seems to be an easy answer to this question, but I still find myself asking it: in thinking about those people, do I care?

Sure, some friendships/relationships just plain don't end on a good note. There was no happy ending in the author's mind that time. These situations are comparable to a Shakespearean tragedy. Spoiler alert: everyone dies. But in this case the people breathe on, while the tie that bound them has been severed. In some cases this is a painful process packed with whirlwind emotions, but I want to think about those ties we lost at a point in time that we can't even name because we honestly don't know when it happened.

I want to think about those friends that you knew in grade-school or that neighbor kid you played with in your front yard. Where did those people go? Did life just come in with all it's unpredictable power and sweep them away? We had to have noticed...right? They may not have had a huge impact in our lives, but they were certainly people we treasured because we're human! We are social beings that live on acceptance and can only develop properly when we are exposed to the experiences that we observe others going through.

So really that little neighbor boy wasn't just a playmate or your first crush. You learned from him, just like you learned from the quiet girl in your 3rd grade class, and your funny cousin you saw at Christmas every year. You watched these people, even if you had no intention of doing it, and you learned from them. They helped socialize you without you even realizing what was going on.

And to these people, these seemingly unimportant people, I want to say thanks. Thank you not for simply letting me learn from you, but thank you for giving me a small portion of your life. While I didn't know this when I was growing up, time is a precious thing! Thank you for teaching me through your actions, whether they brought you joy or pain. Thanks for letting me be an "extra" in "that one scene" of your busy, exciting life.

I have one more thing to say to those people who I may not talk to anymore and I may never talk to again: I know we can't go back, but we can always move forward, together. Just because a person falls out of your life for a time doesn't mean there's a no re-acceptance rule. We can still be in the same group for that science project, we can always go play soccer again in the front yard.

Make no mistake though, I'm not asking to go back. We're always going to be moving forward. All I'm saying is we don't have to have this irrational fear of starting up a conversation. If you're thinking of someone you were once close to, maybe they'd appreciate a call, a text, a facebook message, something! I know I would. And there's nothing wrong with that. Why not strike up a conversation, maybe bond over old times or let someone look into your plans for your future. There's no harm in trying.

So here's my challenge, for myself and for you: reach out! Open up those gates of communication. You have a mouth, you know how to form sentences, why not start a conversation? Remember how you learned from those people you spent time with so long ago? That doesn't stop in adulthood. We can always learn more, see more, think more, and feel more. Think back to the last deep conversation you had with someone on a random topic. I remember talking about theatre with someone this last week, and you know what? It was very refreshing! Let's get that back. Let's talk and think and learn from each other, even if the knowledge we gain doesn't seem useful to our day-to-day lives it is still something gained.

I know it's hard to make yourself talk to people just for the sake of conversation. Trust me, as a busy nursing student, it sometimes seems like a waste of time. But don't let that be your excuse. Say hi to that old friend that you haven't seen in awhile. Strike up a conversation with the new neighbor you haven't met yet. You never know what may happen. You could be that encouraging light that they were in need of.