Day 168 - Follow a Random Person to Wherever they are Going

Date: June 23rd, 2010

Have you ever sat and watched people and wondered where they were going?  I do that all the time.  I sit at restaurants, look out the window as people walk down the street, and wonder about them.  I wonder if they're coming or going.  I wonder if they're shopping or meeting friends.  I wonder if they're happy.  I wonder if their lives are good and filled with new, interesting things.  That being said, like most people, I've never dropped what I'm doing and followed someone down the road.

I intended to go to a play in the park with a friend from MSU, but I learned something very important on that warm, June 23rd afternoon.  It turns out that MSU doesn't run ten minutes behind on everything like UofM does.  Keep that in mind, fellow Wolverines.  When you're in East Lansing, you show up on time or you miss the train.

Thanks to seven years of living on Michigan Time, I missed my chance to see what I imagine to be an awesome show.  As I stood on campus at MSU, looking around and wondering what to do, I saw a bunch of people walking in the same direction as each other.  I had a feeling they weren't going to the show I had intended to see, but I decided it was time to stop wondering where people were going and what their lives were like and actually find out.

So I followed.

I walked a few paces behind a gaggle of giggling high school girls who seemed to be pretty darn excited for wherever they were going.  It was in that moment that I felt lucky to be a girl cause, quite frankly, a random 25-year-old following a bunch of high school girls doesn't really bode well most of the time.  In any case, I really enjoyed knowing that I was just a few minutes away from actually knowing where someone else was going.

I followed the girls to a large auditorium where I was treated to the giddy chants of various high school groups, recognizable because of their differently colored tee shirts.  Turns out there was a presentation to the youngsters on the awesomeness of the 4H Club.  I stayed long enough to realize that I did not get nearly as much out of high school presentations as I should have.  There was something pretty darn cool about the mix of school spirit and higher learning in that room.  It was also cool to think that was going on just a few blocks away from where I'm at over the summer and I wouldn't have had any idea about it otherwise.

I don't think I'll look at people watching the same way for quite some time.