This past week I had quite a bit of work pick up. My classes started out slow for this semester, but I soon had two papers and a couple quizzes due on the same day. Sure, these things can cause some stress but it's also reminded me to pay more attention to the little things that I enjoy.
On a big campus such as West Virginia University, you see people every day with a very real possibility that you may never see them again. Because of this factor, people decide their friends and then they travel throughout their day, from class to class, with earbuds in. I do this as well because it makes it easier. The question stands: why is it really worth our time to notice the people around us when we may never see them again and they most certainly, and most likely, don't notice us?
The thought came to me one day as I was riding the bus. I had my usual playlist turned up in my ears and the thought occurred to me, to just take them out. So, I did. On a bus packed full of people sitting, standing, and some holding on for dear life, I looked around and I watched.
I've always been more of an observer than a doer. I sit back and I watch the people around me, I make my decisions cautiously and think about them thoroughly. I have never been someone to jump into unknown territory. So, on this day I just observed my surroundings. I took in everyone and everything.
It was intriguing that although there were probably 50 people on this bus, easy, I could still hear the engine which seemed to add a layer of silence to the atmosphere. Fifty bodies, a bus engine, and some scattered conversations, and yet somehow, there was silence. It would be so incredibly easy to turn my head or even continue looking straight and say hello to someone, but everyone keeps to themselves. It can be baffling however, I still understand.
Everyone keeps to themselves because they already have their people. I feel as if a bus ride can be its own group though. None of us know each other and yet we are all here. Some of us are coming from class, some of us might have just finished an errand, maybe someone has an abnormal schedule today that put them here, and no one would know. Everyone here is experiencing their own life and I, I am just someone sitting to the right looking around. It could be the best or worst day for them, I will never know. Just as they will never know that I am randomly having an epiphany on alternate perspectives on a random Tuesday afternoon in the middle of the everyday bus route.
I rode the bus for roughly 20 minutes that day, I think. I have no explanation for why my brain chose then to implode but it did, and now I'm sharing it with you. Food for thought. You're welcome.
I enjoy riding the bus because of the people I get to see. I get to be a small part of these people's lives although they will not even remember me in five minutes. I wish them all a good day and everyone carries on with their lives in their own perspectives, and some of us won't cross paths again.
So, here's a small reminder if you need one today: remember to think about and appreciate the little things in your life, sometimes you don't even realize you enjoy them until you find yourself deep in your own thoughts.
