A reminder to get out there

I love what I do. Every day I remember how lucky I am to have a job I love, and by that I really mean the opportunity to write for a living, and to meet and interview interesting people, folks whom I normally wouldn’t get a chance to talk to.

Sometimes I get a little whiny, tired or just don’t feel up to being chatty and sociable. I drag myself to an appointment, and I almost always end up enjoying myself anyway. Because I’m not expecting anything out of it, when things go really well, it’s extra special.

I remember this one time, I was pretty tired from a busy weekend and I had an interview lined up with a corporate high-flyer from a luxury brand. I’m into neither luxury goods nor the society scene, and I was not looking forward to socialising and trying to connect.

She totally surprised me. She was friendly, warm, chatty, generous, she didn’t have airs like some people in her position do, we talked about religion and life and motorsports… I had a fantastic time. (I also felt a little guilty for assuming what kind of person she would be based on her looks and my past experience.)

I’m not very outgoing by nature – my first instinct is always to keep to myself – so it’s weird that I love doing profiles and interviews so much. It’s this constant contradiction within me, and it’s great because otherwise I probably wouldn’t get out and meet half the people I have and learned half the things I have from talking to them.

I actually meant to write this post two months ago (oops!) so this is really a reminder to me (and maybe to you?) that sometimes, good things happen when you least expect it. You can connect with people in the most unexpected of ways, and find soul food in the most unexpected of places. I mean, religion? Seriously?

Even in my everyday life, when I’m not on the job, I catch myself being reluctant to wander out of my box sometimes, and this is the story I’ve been coming back to. It’s a gentle kick-in-the-pants to get out there. Because although I don’t really feel like it now, chances are I’m going to have a great time and I’ll be glad I did.