I spent hours finding the perfect clothes to wear. I’m looking for something that’s cute, but not too cute and looks like it’s been tried too hard. Can I come a little early? Or is it better to go in along the dots? As someone who suffers from anxiety, I know that first impressions can make or break an interaction.
The above may sound like I’m preparing for a first date. In a way, I am too.
When spring break approached this year, I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t made any extravagant plans. After all, I’m a fourth year university student. Bored in my room, I decided to start a passion project that had been brewing in my head for a while.
Project: A collection of stories titled “Conversations with Strangers.”
Canva by Janea Melido.
I think the goal is to strengthen your interview skills. Or make new friends. Anyway, I committed to putting myself out there.
And despite my fear and anxiety about putting myself out there, I created an Instagram Story post inviting anyone interested in participating in my project to contact me. I didn’t give any hint at what it would be like, but still, a lot of flattering responses came my way.
Canva by Janea Melido.
What was supposed to be a mundane spring break quickly became filled with random plans to meet up with people I vaguely knew, spread out sporadically throughout the week. There wasn’t really a plan, but it was something I worked towards.
Whether over coffee, food, or drinks, my interviewees and I had casual conversations about events in our lives. Passions, likes and dislikes, controversial opinions, I welcomed them all.
I chose not to record these conversations. I wanted to be fully immersed and take in the experience of my surroundings. After these chats, I went home, spouted words about the conversations, and reflected on them. I was able to get to know these people better and at the same time discover new things about myself.
On the contrary, I grew in ways I never expected. I have become more confident in myself.
I developed new relationships with people who had been around me for most of my college career. This came as a surprise because during the last few months of my college career, I had never expected to form new relationships with people who always seemed to be on the periphery of my life.
Taking the plunge and going on a “first date” with these people overturned my preconceptions and reinforced the classic clichés that had been repeated to me over and over again. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Janea Melido is news and editor-in-chief at The Beacon. You can contact her at: melido24@up.edu.
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