hello.

i am a funny contradiction.
well, i am several funny contradictions.
but one of them is at i am simultaneously introverted and fearless of talking to new people.
i'm not loud. at all. but sitting next to cute boys or cool girls and making friends doesn't phase me much. in fact, the times i have have given me very cherished friendships. (remember when i acted on talking to that attractive swooshy-haired? yeah. we're still friends.)
i said a prayer the other day for help to send all the love i feel inside of me out, and i've found the way to do it fairly easily this week.
saying hello to strangers is something that i try to do on a regular basis but most of the time at college, i find myself thinking too much to remember to do it. and, a lot of the time, i'm perfectly content being alone.
i decided to try to talk to strangers more often this week to send a little bit more of my love into the universe and it has felt so good.
i have met a redhead named sarah who spends christmas vacations at the beach in texas. i made friends a boy named sam who got pants with american flags on them for christmas (from his sister who is about to have a baby) so he can wear them and be uncle sam. i met a girl named emily & together we're going to the mat kearney concert next month. mckenzie is taking living with plants this semester, and i gushed about that class as i saw her holding the textbook for it in the bookstore line. lisa isn't a huge fan of our art history class, and she's an elementary ed major. so is emily. i introduced them.
and though these interactions were tiny they have completely changed my mood everyday this week. my most exciting time is going to political science, where there is 300 students, because i get to meet someone new everyday. i've noticed that when i'm washing my hands in public restrooms, i don't even look at myself in the mirror. i don't care about what i look like. i'm not sure what that's a sign of, but it's a sign of something very good.
my roommate joselyn told me that after she saw me introduce myself to sarah in our book of mormon class, she decided to meet people in each of her classes that day. so i wonder how many people were extra friendly, simply because they saw me or someone else say hello to another. and so i'm wondering how many people's days we can make if all of us do it tomorrow.

so say hello. if there's one thing i can promise, it's that it will be worth it.