How To Let Go Of Someone You Know You'll Probably Never See Again
Have you ever met someone you just click with? When you just look into his or her eyes and can't help but smile, laugh and want to hug that person for absolutely no reason? I get this feeling every once in a while, and it brings me joy like no other.
However, sometimes this person is not someone who can be in your life, and you know it within seconds of meeting him or her. That is painful.
It's amazing what can start from something as simple as this:
"Hi, so what part of the city do you live in?"
"Hi, actually I'm just visiting, I'm from (fill in the blank)."
New York City is one of the major tourist cities in the world, and this happens a lot here.
I know some people travel every day for a living and can relate. Some of the best memories I have are of people I met who were just passing through.
I've met guys from Australia who've showed me pictures of their pet kangaroos, took me to Broadway shows and shared fun nights on the town with me. I met an awesome woman who quit her job to travel the world solo and inspires me every day. I've met countless guys from Ireland, and France, and women from London, and Belgium. Sometimes, these people are from places in the US like Texas, California, Oregon, etc.
Usually, when someone tells me he or she is visiting, I'll smile, recommend a few fun things to do, then walk away. Because what's the point of trying to extend the conversation? However, there are those rare people who enter your life, and you just want to be around them for as long as you can.
Each person I meet serves a purpose.
I know not every guy I meet is going to be my soulmate and not every woman I meet is going to be my best friend, but if I were to brush off every person I meet (or never say hi to anyone) because of this, I'd have one hell of a boring life. I've gone on a date in Paris, ran across the Champs-Élysées, hopped fences and jumped in moonlit lakes.
I've frolicked on a cruise ship, hiked mountains, learned to two-step and swing dance. I would not trade a single one of these memories for the life of me. I've learned so much about myself and also about what brings people together on a human level. No matter how different someone is from you, there is always some kind of common ground.
Each person I meet breaks my heart a little.
If you never feel a little heartbreak, how can you ever feel love? It's kind of a catch-22, but it's true. It's been a while since I've had a real relationship and been in love. Sometimes I just get sad that I'm heartbroken because feeling something is better than feeling nothing. It means you're human, and you're living life. However, when I do feel chemistry with someone, a little piece of me falls in love with that person, and I mean it sincerely.
So when I look at someone, knowing from the start that this is it, we'll only have this one night together, it breaks my heart. I get attached to people, and I hate to think I might never see this person again. Seriously, it scares me.
I want to know everything about people, and I want to share who I am with them, too. Unfortunately, this is not always possible in life, but that's the beauty of it. It makes you live in the moment and soak up everything that is happening while you can. It reminds me not to take a single day for granted.
So I'd rather be heartbroken a little, than to never love at all.
Each person I meet brings me joy.
Each person makes my world a little smaller. The memories stay with me, and if I care about someone once, I will care about him or her always. Even if we stop talking and someone becomes a distant memory, I'll still think of it like a sad Nicholas Sparks' ending. That's just who I am; every person I meet is a part of who I am. I'd like to think that when I travel to new places, I will always make connections like this.
I will meet people who challenge me and make me grow, who teach me about their cultures and foods and who make me realize my dreams are bigger than I had planned. I will meet people who make me laugh uncontrollably, whose goodnight kisses gives me chills and whom I hope I will run into again one day, if fate will have it.
These people make my world go 'round. What's the point of life if you always stay in one place, and always do the same things with the same people?
I might never see some of these people again. We might not be meant to cross paths more than once, but then again, we might. That, to me, is beautiful.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
