people surprise me

"To be a part, that is fulfillment for us: to be integrated with our solitude into a state that can be shared." Rainer Maria Rilke

This confounding dislocation has some pretty pleasant side effects. It's incredibly uniting.

Because we're all in such a funny state of flux and uncertainty, it seems people are uncharacteristically open...to knew things, places, people, ideas. It's refreshing.

I ran into a kid from my high school at a club this weekend. I'm not sure I ever had a conversation with him in high school, but I was thrilled to see a familiar face. We spoke briefly but with ease and enthusiasm, and I left super excited. It's a little peculiar that such a slight interaction made me so happy, but lately I've been animated by a lot of similarly insignificant exchanges.

It's the same with new friends. There's a nice little group of kids from Wash U in LA right now, and everyone continues to sort of come together and meld friends and acquaintances from all over. Maybe it's because we're all on loose ground right now, so judgement falls by the wayside. We're all candid with our insecurities and empathetic to each other's states. That makes this is a pretty unique spot in life, and I'm not sure when or if it'll ever happen again.

We're all at the bottom really, trying to figure out where we're going, why, and with whom. But it's not a competitive latter climb. In a few years egos will set in again and divisions will form or reform. It's probably impossible to prevent, so I guess I can try to just take it for what it is and be happy for now.