The Strangers We Remember

I saw a video a few weeks back about strangers. This woman approached random people in public and asked them about one stranger they will always remember. Of course this video made me think of the people that I have met and never want to forget. Here are some of them...

1. The woman at Roostermoon

I've talked about this woman on the blog before. It was my last Winter semester at HCC and I woke up one day feeling overly stressed. It was the end of the semester and I was worrying about classes and finals. I ended up in Roostermoon, trying to calm myself down. About an hour in this somewhat older woman walked in and sat at the table across from me and I could tell that she was glancing at my table and I was trying to not look uncomfortable. She eventually told me that she liked one of the books that I was reading. She asked what my major was and I said Social Work. She then told me that she was also a social worker. She started telling me about her life, specifically her children. She told me that her husband had died of cancer, her son was in the Peace Corp and her daughter was in jail. At the end of the conversation she told me that I was going to be a good Social worker because of how well I listened to her. She told me that God loved me and that everything was going to be okay. I wish I could have learned her name but at the time I thought to ask, she was gone. I cried after she left because she had no idea how much I needed to hear that.

2. The girl on the mission trip

In 2016 I decided I was going on my last mission trip. This was the year we had to build a wheelchair ramp for a man. In the middle of the week the people in my group started talking about gay people. It was a relatively negative conversation. I didn't say anything because I didn't want them to think that I was gay. When I looked up there was another girl from the group who smiled at me. I think it was her way of saying that I wasn't alone. It really touched me.

3. The man in GSU

This was the beginning of the semester. I was know that I was walking somewhere and I decided to sit down in the lounge. I was not having the greatest of days and maybe that was obvious. I think I was overwhelmed with school, my terrible roommate and I missed home. As I was sitting there I noticed the man sitting across from me. He told me that he liked my hair, told me that I was beautiful and he wished that his hair looked like mine. I was so surprised that he said anything. At that point I felt invisible and he saw me. I think what made it so memorable was that it was genuine and sweet.

4. The Trans woman at a yardsale 

This was when I was in Florida, on vacation. My grandmother and I were yardsaling in a community of mostly retired couples. It was nearing the end and we went to one more house. I noticed this one woman who was very talkative and beautiful. I realized that this was her house. One part of her garage was completely dedicated to jewelry. I started noticing that a lot of the jewelry was rainbow themed. The woman who I had noticed was Trans. It made me really happy to see that she was happy. I don't know if my grandmother noticed that she was Trans, probably not. I wish that I had been able to talk to her but that was probably crossing the line. It was enough to see her happy and living authentically as herself. 

5. The woman who needed help

In 2016 I started following LGBT YouTubers and bloggers. There was one particular couple that I really admired. They were beautiful, happy and they gave me hope. They had two beautiful children through IVF. In 2017 I found out that the couple was getting a divorce. It was apparently unexpected and Candice was thrown off guard. I really felt for her and my heart broke for her. A few months later Candace's friends posted a video and said that Candice needed help. Being a single mom is difficult and she was worried that she was going to lose her home. Her daughter was also dealing with severe separation anxiety and she had a baby boy. Candice's friends set up a GoFundMe account without Candice knowing until they posted the video on her channel. I felt this strong need to help and give back to a person who had unknowingly brought a lot of comfort to me. I donated and then messaged Candice on Tumblr anonymously and basically thanked her. She messaged me a few hours later and thanked me and told me she was overwhelmed by the generosity she was experiencing. It was one of the greatest feelings I've ever experienced. 

DFTBA

-AB