Talking to Strangers

I used to be the kind of person who would tremble in my seat in a restaurant hyping myself up to place my order. I would rehearse my order again and again in my head to make sure I’d get it right. Gnocchi…is it nyu-kee? Or no-kee? Or nyo-keh? Damn it, I’ll just have spaghetti instead. 

How did I go from that to interrupting two strangers in a cafe in a foreign country and ending up going over for a family dinner? And then two months later, flying to another country to visit one of those strangers. I forced myself to get over my fear of rejection. At the end of the day, that was what was holding me back. I was afraid of saying something “wrong” and having people hate me for it. How ridiculous. 

I challenged myself to slowly get out of my comfort zone. I started by complimenting strangers. Sometimes I did face rejection; people either wouldn’t hear me and just totally ignored me or they just straight up didn’t know how to take a compliment. And what did I do? I learned to move on. 

Then I tried starting conversations with strangers everywhere and anywhere. Coffee shops, grocery stores, libraries, nobody was safe. It was difficult at first, but the more I did it, the easier it got. People were, for the most part, happy to talk to a stranger.

I’ve always had that desire inside me to hear people’s stories, but I held myself back. Once I learned to listen to that desire rather than the nagging voice of fear in my head, many doors opened for me. As a solo traveler, I’ve had some of the richest adventures just from starting the conversation. People crave connection. We thrive off of it. 

So, if you’re the way I used to be and you feel your palms begin to get clammy when the time comes to talk to strangers, do yourself a favor and push yourself past your limits. Those obstacles are just inside your mind. I promise you will thank yourself for it. The world is more colorful when you learn to see it through the different lenses of the people you meet. 

Hey there! If you enjoyed my story and want to give a little to support me on my journey, you can buy me a coffee 🖤