I am a TOTAL extrovert. I could interact with new people for hours, especially in the evenings with a cocktail in hand. Well, a few other caveats: it has to be an informal yet structured gathering, i.e., not a button-up business event, but also not a random networking event where random people go with whom I probably have nothing in common. Maybe I’m being too prescriptive. But I just got back from a Stanford alumni event, and I had such a wonderful time talking to people young and old; people my age, to people in their seventies. It was a structured event in that there was a lovely presentation by Stanford alum Joel Peterson followed by socializing. I arrived halfway through Joel’s presentation since I had to put baby girl to bed first, but the part I caught was spot-on with how I think about life: finding the right partner, building a strong family, holding onto your values. No matter where your career and accomplishments lead, those things are and always will be—to me—the most important. And apparently Joel agrees.
Anyway, prior to the event, I had done my hair and makeup (something I do once in a blue moon) and put on my Diesel wax-coated wine-colored jeans, black leather jacket, and black stilettos—my pre-kids look. So I arrived looking fly, and the only open seats were at the bar, so I sat at a bar stool and ordered a glass of pinot to sip while I listened to Joel. And, I felt like my old self. My pre-kids self. And I realized that, while kids have definitely fundamentally changed me, put me in my Diesel jeans and give me a glass of wine and put me in a speakeasy room at the Edison House listening to Joel Peterson with a bunch of other Stanford grads, and I am 100% ready to socialize and be my old self.
And that’s exactly what I did. Immediately following the presentation, I walked up to two dudes who looked about my age sitting at a cocktail table at the back of the room. One of them had asked Joel what he felt about DEI and woke culture. (Maybe I’ll share my thoughts on those in a future post.) I asked him, “So, how do you feel about DEI and woke culture?” And instantly, the three of us plunged into a super deep conversation. Turns out, the other guy owns a trucking company, so we talked about that for a while and I shared that C.R. England Trucking gave me a $3,500 scholarship in college, no strings attached, which I of course used to go to Europe for two weeks. (Another future blog post.) We didn’t even get each other’s names. It felt so good just talking to people and having a genuine conversation. A tattooed woman who had been sitting near the front joined us, and then another woman, and the five of us continued the conversation.
After a while, I excused myself to go find the organizer of the event and mingle with some of the other folks. I struck up a conversation with two men who were in their sixties and seventies, and we had a lovely conversation as well, sharing what we do for work or in retirement (as was the case with the man in his seventies), talking about our kids, the International Baccalaureate Program, being a professional ballerina, getting a real estate license, and other random topics. I enjoyed that conversation just as much as the one with the folks my age.
And I just…I love people. I love new perspectives, and I love strong opinions. I love when people aren’t afraid to voice exactly what they think. And I guess that’s one reason I’ve decided to blog about personal things more—I want to be like that. I don’t want to be afraid to share what I really think about the world and this life.
I continued talking to the man in his seventies as we exited the building. I asked him how retirement is going. “I love it!” he said. “I bet!” I said. And then he told me that for the last fifteen years, he’s been living with stage four prostate cancer. He quoted Bruce Lee: “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
Hell yeah. That’s what makes life beautiful. You struggle, and you endure. And yes, eventually we will all die. (Why am I always talking about death in every blog post so far?) But I truly feel that aspiring for things, and the journey of the struggle, is what makes life worth living.
And I think that fundamental understanding is one reason I love meeting people. I’m never self-conscious because I recognize how we’re each on our own journey. As long as your own journey is successful to you, that’s all that matters. And it is so fun to share my journey with others and hear about theirs.
What is your journey? How are you navigating it? Are you enjoying it? I hope so!