People Right There

There’s this guy I know named Solomon. He’s the most social person I’ve ever met. Being with Solomon is like being with a mini-celebrity, in this city at least. Wherever he goes, people are either coming over to greet him, or he’s the one going to say hi. It’s crazy, man.

The craziest part is he told me he doesn’t even like social events. I asked him how he does it, and apparently, just knowing people around him comes naturally. I guess some people are just wired that way.

I’m sure you know someone like that too. I'm sure you know someone who could, for example, spend just a year doing an internship at a hospital and still manage to come out of it knowing about a quarter of the staff. My guy David would, without a doubt, describe his cousin that way. And for me, it’s Solomon.

Me, though? I’m the complete opposite of Solomon. Well… maybe not completely, because I don’t like social events either. Look, if you ever catch me at a wedding or at a function with lots and lots of people, just know that I really had to be there. Otherwise, I'd just rather be at home with my computer, man. 

But, I'm the complete opposite of Solomon in his incredible ability to just be at a place and just connect with people almost effortlessly. It's absurd. Enviable, even.

I'm not a shy person, not even the least. If I feel a certain type of way, I'm going to say it. If I want to get something from someone, I'm going to go and get it. I just wouldn't describe myself as social.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how my internship is almost over. And when I look at the people I’ve connected with, I realize they are all, 

wait for it... 

Keep waiting... 

pharmacists. 

I realize this is not a good thing. It is often emphasized that you need to know people and expand your social network, etcetera, etcetera. I know this, but I can't help it, man. I tend to form connections only with people who are right in front of me—those who are literally just there. 

I've been thinking about how I started talking to certain people who became very close to me at some point in my life, and I realize, in a weird way, that I didn't actually have to go to them. Sometimes it was because we realized we shared common interests. Take Kelvin, for an example. I became close to him because, at the time, I realized he shared my proclivity for the news. My proclivity for international events. Even today, Kelvin is the only person I know personally who reads more about global events than I do.

Sometimes, I become close to people because we realized we shared common interests, Or, it was because of something spontaneous at that moment. Take Sonari, for an example. I was sitting in class one time and she was next to me, and for some reason I made her listen to the song Stan by Eminem - a rap story about a crazed fan. She liked it. Then I made her listen to Dance With the Devil by Immortal Technique. She liked that too, asked me for my number, and that’s how we exchanged contacts.

Other times, people stumbled across something I wrote and shared. They reached out, curious about who I was, and from there, a relationship developed.

I’ve truly been privileged to meet and get to know some amazing people in my life—people like David, Serena, Daniel, Kelvin, Madeleine, The Solomon himself, Garvey, Sonari, Louis, Michael… and, of course, Emmanuella. But I met all of them because they were right there—if you know what I mean.

And I can’t help but wonder how many more people I might’ve met if I had been just a little more out there. My sendoff is coming up soon, and I think about all the people in this big hospital I could have gotten to know—if only I’d been a bit more like Solomon. Haha.

There are so many amazing people in the world, no doubt. And I can't meet them all, I suppose.