What would you like to tell me?

Regardless of how well we know people, most of us would still be incredibly surprised by even our closest friends thoughts and actions.

The other day, I asked my 14-year-old brother to tell me something interesting that had happened to him that day. After much prodding, he told me that his geometry teacher had made pudding for the entire class. Later that night, I saw him online looking up pudding recipes. As random as this might sound, I was not surprised by the story, but by the fact that this one event seemed to have captured his attention and was a recurring thought for him throughout the day. This got me thinking about events or thoughts that might captivate my friends and family on a daily basis. I thought it might be interesting to talk to some of my friends and family and ask them about something they had been thinking about constantly; something completely random that they just might not think to voice to others. I thought that maybe I could talk to others and give them another outlet to just talk about themselves. So, I decided to ask others this question, “What would you like to tell me”? Elaborating on this, I would explain that by this question, I was just asking them about something they had been thinking about, anything including that which might not come up in a standard conversation, that they just might like to talk about or share.

I set out to just get some insight into what was going on in my peer’s lives and thoughts. Although I was prepared, I was still surprised by the answers I received. They spoke of benevolence, college applications, the Renaissance, and space. I learned that one girl is working on her UC applications and hopes to go to school in California. She had attended a summer program on sustainability at Brown University the previous summer, and while she enjoyed it immensely, she recognized that this separation was too much and that she wanted to be closer to family. Another girl was going to Las Vegas right before Thanksgiving along with 20 of her family members. They were going to Circus Circus, attend different shows, and see the boxing match between Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

I’m glad that I reached out to my peers because I realized that talking with others and allowing yourself to be influenced by ideas is important. By dedicating time to others, I was able to give my point of view or provide support. When someone is introduced to a different frame of reference, it influences thoughts and often helps one to develop further.