An Unexpectedly Beautiful Moment At Pizza House In East Lansing

We are taught from a young age "don't talk to strangers" but every once in a while, you meet one who touches your heart or at least shows up when you need a genuinely nice moment like this.

I am someone who absolutely loves connecting with people but also gets very paranoid and concerned about the world around me at the same time. It's weird. It's one of those things where I love people, spontaneous connections and sharing stories.

However, this pandemic has really brought out the worst in some people or at least just made many of us leery of others. What I experienced tonight, though, was a taste of what I have been missing since March 2020.

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So What Happened Was...

I commute to Lansing from Jackson, so when I had a work engagement at four o'clock, instead of going home after the morning show, I stayed at the office all day and was going to pick up dinner for me and my boyfriend on my way back home.

Pizza House already holds some sentimental value to me so when I had a gift card to use in my wallet, that's where I decided to go.

I sat at the bar, ordered a beer and was just playing on my phone as my take-out order was being prepared.

A few minutes later a woman sat at the barstool next to me, ordered a drink and we sat in silence for a few until she asked me about my tattoo on my ankle.

From there we talked about tattoos, she told me about the one she got in the late 70's, beautiful spots in Michigan, where we work, and more. Conversation was just flowing between us and as we continued on, my mood got more and more elevated.

Why This Was So Special To Me

Sure, this is a moment many people experience at bars on the daily, so why does it matter so much to me?

I've been having, mentally/emotionally, a tough go of things lately. We lost my grandpa just shy of a month ago and I'm still reeling from it.

I was in a funk when I showed up to that bar and I just feel in my heart, the universe sent that woman that way to lighten my spirits.

Call me crazy, say I'm looking into it too much but I realized, many of us have not had moments like that, moments with complete strangers, since the pandemic started.

We all know loneliness has been getting to people and March 2020 until now has been spent mostly with your closest inner circle. We've been missing out on those connections that make this world go around.

A Small Moment Can Teach You A Lot

I know, this moment could seem so minute to some, but that's what life is all about. Small moments that come together to form how we see the world.

This woman at the bar at Pizza House, I didn't even catch her name, but I wish I could hug her for the way she completely turned my day around.

After I left, I drove home singing to whatever random song came on in my car. I got home and danced around my kitchen. It sparked a kind of light that I have been trying for a while now to get bring back to myself.

So, if this somehow gets to her, thank you so, so much. You have no idea what kind of positivity you have sparked in my mindset and something I will strive to carry with me from this night on.

Oh, and I hope you get your dream condo in Traverse City.

All in all, while talking to strangers seems like the last thing you want to do nowadays, give it a shot. You never know what you'll learn, how it will change you in the seemingly smallest ways, or how it could simply be a bright spot in what otherwise seems like a dark time.

Here are some ways talking to strangers has been proven to benefit you: