In Love With A Stranger Who Showed Me The Meaning Of Life | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

In Love With A Stranger Who Showed Me The Meaning Of Life

I fell in love with a stranger and even though he never said a word, he showed me what it means to live.

64
In Love With A Stranger Who Showed Me The Meaning Of Life
Lily Anderson

Life is freaking hard. And honestly nobody told me it would be anything like this, or if they did, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t listening. During one of my hardest periods of time I found comfort in a complete stranger and he taught me more than anybody has in my life, and the biggest hitch, he never said a word.

I couldn’t tell you what it was about him, but the moment he walked through the door he caught my eye. He was different, not the kind of guy I was used to seeing and me being weird automatically made up his whole life story. I would see him around every now and then and every time I gave him a new section to his little biography that was inside my head. By the end of it, I secretly loved this fictional character that I made for this man and this character taught me everything that changed my life. The boy and his skinny little jeans, baggy t-shirt, and curly crazy hair were my inspiration. I wasn’t really in love with him, but I was in love with the life I made up for him. I wanted that kind of life.

I use to think there was a straight forward plan to follow in order to have a good life. Go to school, be a good daughter/friend/person, get a high paying job, find a boy and boom the pieces will fall in place and your puzzle is made, easy right? Well, I tried this and I was an epic fail and felt pretty screwed. You always hear that these four years of your life will be the best time you’ll ever have, which I was definitely not feeling. I was stressed with school and my future and really, I lost sight of why I was even here. I was going through the steps that everybody is “suppose to do”. But the second I saw this man my view of life was completely changed and although I haven’t yet found myself he made my path easier to see. There is much more to life than just walking through steps and surviving. I live in Indiana, and I love my home state, but there is so much more out there. I want to wake up with the soft coolness of morning mist on my body, the sand blanketing over my buried toes, and the salt water crashing along the stones revealing a sliver of the rising sun. I want to walk for miles and miles until I’m standing literally on top of the world. I want to experience first-hand every culture and become connected with every different person. I want to live my dreams and wake up every morning knowing that I’m uncontrollably happy and I'm making a difference in this beautiful world. And I think everybody should feel that. I hate to be a this huge walking cliché but it is just the truth, there’s so much more out there, so much better, and looking in his pure eyes made me see that.

The way he stood tall with good posture but it still looked so flimsy, like he was on top of the world, but at the same time had no clue what he was doing. He came off to be so easy going and lovely, the kind of person who literally makes peoples day just by saying hi. But I think the thing that will stick with me the most was the way he stood outside sometimes to smoke a cigarette and just watched the world around him in amazement. I wanted to have that amazement in my surroundings. This is what made me really think about what’s out there and what I can do with it, what I should be doing with it.

All the sudden the tiniest things began to stick out to me; one phrase in a song, a peek of exposed brick, a pattern in the clouds, a faded old sign, literally anything meant everything to me. And just like that my dreams felt a lot more meaningful. I began to do the things that I loved. I began writing, singing more, and traveling more. I now, more than ever, understand that everybody has this extremely beautiful story behind their life and I want to know it. I now see the beauty in things that I thought were irrelevant, just because the way this man stared into space while smoking a cigarette. And then the he got up from his metal wired chair and walked down the street, and I realized that in my lost wandering way it was time for me to get up and start living.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

74612
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

6027
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

9157
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments