A couple months back I was thinking I really need to get some new people to hang out with. I made an intentional effort to do some different things and step outside of my box. I spent an afternoon volunteering, I took a tennis class, and I smiled and said hello to just about everyone I encountered.
Well the volunteering was fine, it felt good to put forth effort that went to a good cause. I talked to a lot of people. So many people in fact that I started to lose my voice. But no real connections were made. Tennis class was nice and I got to know some of the people in my class, but I didn’t pursue things further with anyone I met, yet anyway. There is a possibility I’ll run into these people in the future and they could transition from acquaintances to friends. I did however make a couple new friends while practicing tennis by myself. Both times I was hitting solo against a tennis wall and someone invited me to play on a court. Well after each of those experiences I exchanged numbers and now have two new people to play tennis with. Awesome! It made me consider that hanging out by myself made me more approachable for others. I would never have met either of those people had I been practicing with someone else. Smiling and saying hello to everyone I encounter hasn’t gotten me too far yet, but it feels good to receive smiles back. I think it almost catches people off guard to have a stranger say hello.
My venture has been a success so far and has motivated me to continue to step outside my comfort zone more and more. It’s nice to meet new people, get a different perspective, and participate in activities which I normally wouldn’t take part in.
