I was, initially, very unsure of whether or not I wanted to come back to $small_town, because I’ve been living in small towns for far too long, seemingly. I still don’t like small towns, and I don’t have plans to live in one for the rest of my life (clearly).
However, upon arriving in said $small_town, and seeing people (some of whom don’t live here). I think I’ve reached an epiphany. Spending time with people, and seeing Cloud Cult, and watching people (different people than the people I was spending time with), it seems as though, wait for it: people are just people. I mean, let me rephrase that, sort of. Everyone is just a person, regardless of what they’re doing. The people in Cloud Cult are just that, people, despite the spectacular music they produce.
It seems as though the way people interact with others is defined by their interpretations of who the other person/people is/are. So, for instance, talking to a professor, most people (and I did) have predisposed ideas about what a professor is, and you treat the professor accordingly.
Deep, right? Well, it’s not, but it seemed that way when I “discovered” it. It struck me as interesting that we define our interactions based on our own ideas of who someone is. Not how that person defines themselves, and not going into the interaction with a completely open mind and seeing where it goes.
What this means, at least in my context, is that I’m now more conscious. I’m not interested in judging people based on “who they are”, I’m interested in having a conversation/connection with them, as people. Everyone has a life story, let that define them, not what your pre-conceived notions of them are. It’s refreshing, in a way, because a lot of my angst-inducing stuff recently (within the past year?) seems to be centered around what other people thought of who I was, sort of. Or rather, I never felt like I was getting enough out of whatever I was doing. I sort of felt like I was drifting aimlessly, not really finding anything meaningful (outside of one person who I don’t see enough, my family, and other select few).
So, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that the way people interact gives meaning to that interaction, and then many interactions give meaning to day to day life. So, does this mean that my conclusion is that our lives are meaningless without interactions with others? No, but I’m not sure why. I’m sure I’ll get there, but that’s outside this scope.
In short, I need to re-adjust the way I’m looking at life. I don’t like this sort of “inherent instability” in the way life is happening.
Tags: blogging, change, college, future, introspection, school, UMM
I have nothing to add, other than I am very jealous you’ve seen Cloud Cult.