In 2019 I set out to meet 1,000 people in a year.
I was driving home from teaching my last class of the spring semester when the idea drifted in with the pollen. I gave it absolutely no critical examination, but it felt right. I like meeting people. (Most of the time.) I'm a journalist: Hand me a notebook, give me an assignment, and I can meet anyone. Now I had an assignment for all occasions. I could do this! As I rounded the curve toward home, I did some quick math-quick for me and realized I needed to meet about 20 people a week, roughly three people a day.
Unless you're in sales, 20 people a week is a crowd. Some weeks, when I'm trying to meet a deadline, I might not see 20 people. I might have to start introducing myself to strangers while pushing my cart through Kroger. None of this occurred to me as I pulled into my driveway. I had convinced myself it was doable.
In my journal a few days later, I note my plan. Do I reflect on my motives? I do not. It's a stunt, ginned up not for this writing assignment but as a little challenge for myself. Or something. I was like a kid jumping from a high diving board-if I thought about the distance I was about to fly, I'd never take that step into the air. Of course, when you leap, the drop to blue water happens so fast, you don't have time to work out a rationale. Suddenly, you're seeing bubbles and bobbing to the surface. But this was no launch into gravity's inevitability. It was a journey.
I just didn't know where to.
Denne historien er fra Volume 2. No 3 - 2022-utgaven av The Oprah US.
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Denne historien er fra Volume 2. No 3 - 2022-utgaven av The Oprah US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The BEST BOOKS of 2024
We all loved Oprah's Book Club selections this year (did you read them all?), but here are our editors' favorite standouts on the shelves-from the thoughtprovoking to the heartwarming to the hilarious.
The Summer I TOOK My Mom "HOME"
Whenever I tell people about the Last Trip Home I took to Italy with my 87-year-old mother and my older son last summer, everyone has the same response (\"Awwww...\"), which makes me feel like a fraud because I know they're imagining some gauzy scene. And to be fair, I'd tried to plan it that way.
PARIS Made ME DO IT
Travel maybe shouldn't be any different than \"regular\" life, but it is.
LOST And Found IN AMERICA
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I WENT I Saw, HATE
Ten years ago, I went to Tokyo on a lark. I was invited to the opening of the 38-story Aman Tokyo hotel, a beautiful example of urban minimalism and a destination unto itself.
Trips That Changed US All Forever
Me, MOM, And A Thousand SEABIRDS
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The Menopause Makeover: For When "Aging Gracefully" Gets Old
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Why I Cut Off All My Hair
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The Perfect Gift Book for Everyone on Your List
Sumptuous reads that look as lovely on your coffee table as they do on your bedside table.