Others

Intro

Last night, I had the privilege of sitting around a room, listening, discussing, and interacting with people I had never met before. I hope to meet them again.

At First

Initially, I thought I was in for an antisocial night of awkward cooking with my dad hovering around instructing and doing the majority of the work. I was skeptical about being around other people simply because I thought I was going to be uncomfortable. That's pretty unfair both to them and to myself because I didn't even give them a chance before feeling like I wasn't going to be accepted within the group or have a reasonable time around them. My dad bridged this gap long ago and, much like last night, wasn't preachy or socially reserved, but (quite) funny, relatable, and more than anything else, an interesting person.  It's hard to see from the kid's view, as they're the kid - they're used to the parents being guiding, the disciplinarian; it's hard to see parents as people on their own.

Cooking

After all of this went down, we got to the cooking. It was crowded in my small kitchen, but everyone meshed together well. I talked to people about soccer, music, and their lives at the University. Having this time to spend with others and share an activity my family frequently partakes in was enriching both for me and for the students spending time at our house.

In short, it was really damn cool.

I'd do that again in a heartbeat.