Throughout your lifetime, you will come across millions and millions of people -- some will matter, and some will not. The funny part is, those who do matter are not necessarily the people we are closest with or the ones we know on a deep level. This past week, while hiking in the Rocky Mountains in Colorful Colorado, I met a man named Greg. To my surprise, this stranger taught me a lot.

I never thought that a stranger could strike me so deeply in the heart the way that Greg has done. I simply know his name and a few other simple facts about him, yet I almost feel as if he is as important to me as a direct family member. In meeting Greg, I have come to realize how impactful strangers can be on our lives.

We spend our lives walking past strangers each and every day. Occasionally we may share a small smile or a simple, “Good morning,” but for the most part conversations do not go much further than that with an unfamiliar face. But, why? Why is it that we stray away from strangers as fast as we do? Why not tell our life story to somebody we have never met before, or keep a conversation going further than the simple explanation of how your day is going? For all we know, the stranger in front of you at the grocery store may be the doctor who someday saves your life or maybe even the girl your son will one day marry; maybe strangers aren’t such strangers after all.

I believe that calling someone a stranger may be an aggressive and demeaning way to label someone. Yes, I would then and still now label Greg a stranger to me, but Greg has impacted me in a way that people I have known for over 15 years have yet to do. It blows my mind how much a stranger means to me, as well as makes me sad that I have wasted 21 years shunning strangers. I had never realized how important strangers are to life, and I would like for them to know it.

Dear Stranger,

Whether I have met you at the swimming pool, where you showed me exactly the parent I do not ever want to become, or the elderly man I ran into while hiking up a mountain who taught me to always go forward, never straight -- I believe that your path has crossed with mine for a reason. I thank you for being in the same place at the same time as I, for you have taught me some type of life lesson.

Maybe you were the girl in front of me at Dairy Queen who helped me discover my love for crunchies on an ice cream cone, or the man yelling at his wife in public who taught me to never settle for love. I have never forgotten you, and I will always remember what you have taught me. I may not know your name, age, or a single thing about you, but I do know that you have played a role in my life. It may be odd to find strangers so important to one’s life, but without Greg, I would have had to hike seven miles without water. Without the kind elderly woman, I wouldn’t have been able to purchase a milkshake at the shop when I had forgotten my money at home. Without the kind college boy, I would have walked all the way to my exam never realizing I had dropped my scantron on the sidewalk.

Maybe this is dumb, and maybe this is crazy, but I have recently realized how important strangers are in life and how much of a blessing running into one can be. I thank all of the strangers out there who have positively impacted my life and I hope that I have done the same to others.