As we are growing up, it has been ingrained into our subconscious umpteenth times that "We shouldn't talk to Strangers!" Reminded me instantly of the advertisement with the same tagline. :)
And Most of us live our life following the adage blindly never questioning it really. But come to think of it, aren't we all Strangers in this Strange world? The people that you end up interacting with daily (willingly /unwillingly); no matter your profession, caste, location or gender; are actually all Strangers to you at some point of time.
And gradually with subsequent interactions you tend to slot them into categories of friend, acquaintances, neighbors, co -workers, and so on. I am sure each one of us have a fond /funny/interesting anecdote of how you first met someone. Hell ! your life partner with whom you have promised to spend the rest of your life with was too a stranger, isn't it? And still we harbor this notion of not befriending a stranger.
When I entered this social media scenario, that was the first thing I was warned about by friends and well wishers,"Do not entertain unknown friend request!" And I, understanding their concerns refrained from the same for many years that followed. There's a vast sea of Strangers out there and I am sure everyone has suffered from the unwanted friend request, request to like a page, join a group or support an event, the most annoying of the lot could be the game invite(Candy crush/ Temple run anyone?).
The world wide web has aptly created a web wide enough to cover the longitudes and latitudes of the world, and distance doesn't matter nowadays, as long as the feelings are at the right place. ;) And slowly the rebel in me, challenged the age old wisdom ! And I started opening up to the idea of talking to a Stranger. Of course! there were criterias to be met before I befriended them, like common interests for starters, a sense of humor and a decent vocabulary :p (I am stickler at that).
And let me tell you, Strangers don't bite and up-till now it has been a good experience (Touchwood!) with me ending up knowing a different world that exists beyond my own small universe and making some cool friends in the process. :D And psst...let me tell you a secret...they are all Humans!! Just like you and me...:) having the same emotions, aspirations and dreams unfulfilled. So open up and talk to that Stranger who you think could be your next Friend in waiting. Cheers!!
And Most of us live our life following the adage blindly never questioning it really. But come to think of it, aren't we all Strangers in this Strange world? The people that you end up interacting with daily (willingly /unwillingly); no matter your profession, caste, location or gender; are actually all Strangers to you at some point of time.
And gradually with subsequent interactions you tend to slot them into categories of friend, acquaintances, neighbors, co -workers, and so on. I am sure each one of us have a fond /funny/interesting anecdote of how you first met someone. Hell ! your life partner with whom you have promised to spend the rest of your life with was too a stranger, isn't it? And still we harbor this notion of not befriending a stranger.
When I entered this social media scenario, that was the first thing I was warned about by friends and well wishers,"Do not entertain unknown friend request!" And I, understanding their concerns refrained from the same for many years that followed. There's a vast sea of Strangers out there and I am sure everyone has suffered from the unwanted friend request, request to like a page, join a group or support an event, the most annoying of the lot could be the game invite(Candy crush/ Temple run anyone?).
The world wide web has aptly created a web wide enough to cover the longitudes and latitudes of the world, and distance doesn't matter nowadays, as long as the feelings are at the right place. ;) And slowly the rebel in me, challenged the age old wisdom ! And I started opening up to the idea of talking to a Stranger. Of course! there were criterias to be met before I befriended them, like common interests for starters, a sense of humor and a decent vocabulary :p (I am stickler at that).
And let me tell you, Strangers don't bite and up-till now it has been a good experience (Touchwood!) with me ending up knowing a different world that exists beyond my own small universe and making some cool friends in the process. :D And psst...let me tell you a secret...they are all Humans!! Just like you and me...:) having the same emotions, aspirations and dreams unfulfilled. So open up and talk to that Stranger who you think could be your next Friend in waiting. Cheers!!
