In Which I Share a Small Portion of my Brain With You

This has no order. Things are about to spill from my brain and let's hope that they're coherent.

I was in the city recently, and was sitting on the subway with my friend. Across from us were three black guys and a friend of theirs -a girl- sitting next to them, a woman in a headscarf listening to her iPod, a lady with an adorable little girl sitting next to her playing on her DS, a guy in his twenties in a bright pink suit, and next to me was an old Asian man. The three guys were wearing baggy pants and joking around with each other, and the girl who seemed to be their friend was trying unsuccessfully to ignore them. The woman in a headscarf had a vague expression of disinterest on her face, and she looked tired. I wonder what she was listening to? The little girl looked a bit priggish…Her expression was one of disdain, or at least of boredom. Her mother seemed to be tired of dealing with her. The guy in the pink suit didn't seem to care that he was wearing a pink suit, and this attitude along with the fact that he looked really snappy in the pink suit, made me want to get to know him. When I got off the subway, I looked back at the Asian man that had been sitting next to me, and he made eye contact with me. He smiled, and his joyful Winnie-the-Pooh face made me grin back. He had one of the nicest smiles I've ever seen, and I actually really regret that I didn't have the time to run back and tell him that. He seemed genuinely happy. I wish that everyone on the subway could have shared a smile with him; maybe they'd end up happier too.

There are so many people in this world, and being in the Exeter bubble means that I've almost completely lost my ability to interact with them. It's like going to Exeter means that I'm only really good at interacting with people like my classmates and teachers. When I venture out, especially into the city, I find that I have no idea where to begin. I wonder where they're going, how they're feeling, what their joys and sorrows are. And I realize that I've lost my mechanism for finding out, which worries me. However, a stranger's smile has convinced me that I'm going to be okay. There are so many people in this world… I can't even begin to know them. But I can try.

*****

At Exeter… We're all in the same boat. No matter which social group we're in, we need each other or we'll drown.

*****

Love is…

A moment of bliss that you can recreate at any time in your head.

Being content with doing nothing, just because it's with the other person.

When you're with them, the only place in the world that you want to be is right there.

When they give you butterflies just by saying your name.

When you can finish their sentences even before they utter the first word.

Trusting them.