The Best Parts of Life Involve Other People

I work from home, I don’t like the phone, and I generally do not have a lot of people in my life. As an introvert, being around other people isn’t something I crave.

Yet getting to know other people is so interesting and relationships are the core to the human existence. It is one of the best parts of life.

Art by DeviantArt. 

I was talking to a friend about college classes. She is considering classes in sociology and psychology. I remarked that the only thing I remember about my sociology course was the personal life of the student who sat next to me. There was no reason why we sat together. It was a pit class, with at least a hundred students, probably many more. I don’t even know her name, and never saw her outside that class, yet she told me the most intimate of things at a very trying time in her life. I got an A in the class, but what I learned was her story, and I carried that with me. Perhaps that is fitting for a sociology course.

As I drove home from coffee and ruminating my college courses, I listened to NPR. Garden Talk was on. I am a certified master gardener, and my instructor was on the radio. Instantly, I felt important because I know her. I liked the familiarity of her voice and her advice was the same as what I gave my mom about pruning this week (I DID learn something!) She tells a joke about “revenge spraying” bugs and notes it is a Phil Peliterri joke. And I get it. I know Phil too, because he taught one or two of those Master Gardener classes and I listen to him on NPR. I heard him make that joke, in class and on the radio. I felt even cooler....and like a geek at the same time.

It is people who inspire my novels. Each story starts with a character, their problems, and eventually, I figure out how they are going to solve it. I wouldn’t have those characters if there weren’t people in my life telling me stories….friends, acquaintances, random people with generous souls.

I applaud the souls who leave their hearts open, for they are inspiring. I enjoy the colorful characters for making life more interesting. I tip my hat to the teachers among us, for their knowledge and ability to repeat their lessons and jokes again and again. Eventually, we get it!