August Writing Challenge - Day 3 - Connection
When I think of the word "connection," I automatically think of people and relationships. I am a believer that once you come into contact with someone, even if just for a second, you are connected to them within that time and space. If it's from the person you pass on the street every day on your way to work, or to your lifelong best friend, you have established some sort of a connection.
I wouldn't dare begin to try to describe all of my relationships - that would fill up a book series. But I always think about the connections between the people I have met and find it so interesting.
If you don't live in the city of New York, you may not understand the significance of reuniting with people you've been to elementary school with as you matriculate through school. Well, when New York city has hundreds of elementary, junior high, and high schools, it's very easy to believe that you will graduate each stage and never see these people again. What I found out in high school, however, was that many of the people I had said goodbye to in my heart, were right there in my face again. What's more, they had connections to other friends and family of mine that I never even knew about.I had friends who knew my cousins, friends who knew other friends, and even different sets of friends who were related to one another and just hadn't revealed the connection. My freshman year of high school went by in a blur, but one of the questions I constantly remember asking and being asked was "How do you know ______?" It was funny to us to realize all that we had in common just by the people in our lives, but a little unnerving, as well.
All these connections taught me a very valuable lesson: It is important to be the same wherever you go because you really have no idea who is watching you. To this day, I run into people from high school, junior high, and elementary school (not on Facebook, either), and we remember one another! Many people still know who I am and how I used to be in high school and junior. After the hellos, the first questions they usually ask are "Are you still a church girl/ You still don't ______ (fill in the blank, drink, smoke, cuss, etc.)" And I'm proud to say that the answers are still "Yes I am" and "No I don't" respectively. And I can say it proudly because I know that the life I say I live is the life I actually live. If my willpower falters, the connections I made before help to keep me on track. I learned that if you want your word to be taken seriously, and your name to be respected, it's better to maintain one face than to try to keep up with 3. Because people get together. We don't know how, we don't know when, we don't know why. But I know, that when people see or talk about Jalisa, I want there to be no confusion about which one they're talking about. And there won't be. Why? Because while there are multiple layers to me, there's only one version of me, and only one me. Connection made!
I wouldn't dare begin to try to describe all of my relationships - that would fill up a book series. But I always think about the connections between the people I have met and find it so interesting.
If you don't live in the city of New York, you may not understand the significance of reuniting with people you've been to elementary school with as you matriculate through school. Well, when New York city has hundreds of elementary, junior high, and high schools, it's very easy to believe that you will graduate each stage and never see these people again. What I found out in high school, however, was that many of the people I had said goodbye to in my heart, were right there in my face again. What's more, they had connections to other friends and family of mine that I never even knew about.I had friends who knew my cousins, friends who knew other friends, and even different sets of friends who were related to one another and just hadn't revealed the connection. My freshman year of high school went by in a blur, but one of the questions I constantly remember asking and being asked was "How do you know ______?" It was funny to us to realize all that we had in common just by the people in our lives, but a little unnerving, as well.
All these connections taught me a very valuable lesson: It is important to be the same wherever you go because you really have no idea who is watching you. To this day, I run into people from high school, junior high, and elementary school (not on Facebook, either), and we remember one another! Many people still know who I am and how I used to be in high school and junior. After the hellos, the first questions they usually ask are "Are you still a church girl/ You still don't ______ (fill in the blank, drink, smoke, cuss, etc.)" And I'm proud to say that the answers are still "Yes I am" and "No I don't" respectively. And I can say it proudly because I know that the life I say I live is the life I actually live. If my willpower falters, the connections I made before help to keep me on track. I learned that if you want your word to be taken seriously, and your name to be respected, it's better to maintain one face than to try to keep up with 3. Because people get together. We don't know how, we don't know when, we don't know why. But I know, that when people see or talk about Jalisa, I want there to be no confusion about which one they're talking about. And there won't be. Why? Because while there are multiple layers to me, there's only one version of me, and only one me. Connection made!
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