I just got back from Realm Makers, a Christian writing conference, and I’m…so tired.

To all my introverts out there: do you forget? Do you forget that you’re an introvert?

I did. I spent my weekend talking to basically everyone I came across–which was an absolute blast, don’t get me wrong–and then had the audacity to be shocked when I got hit with the Big Wall Of Sleepy (trademark pending).

But that’s not the audacity I’m talking about…

Reach out.

I’m not a shy person. Not really. What happens is that I get in my head about what’s “allowed” in conversation, and that shuts me down.

I assume that nobody is interested in talking to me. Nobody cares. Why would they? I’m nobody. Bleh bleh bleh.

Stop it.

I say that to me, and I say that to anyone who relates: Stop it.

Nobody is nobody.

I’ve touched on this before–when I was talking about how beautiful the ordinary is. I quoted Doctor Who. Nobody’s unimportant.

And I’ve said before that there are certain harmless things we don’t do because we assume we’re not allowed to.

Let’s combine those ideas, shall we?

Go say hi to that random person.

Because look–when I’m surrounded by cool nerds, I’m just hoping someone reaches out. And if they don’t, how will new relationships ever begin? How will friendships ever get set in motion if no one has the audacity to say “Hey, what’s up, let’s be pals”?

Isn’t that what being a kid is like? You go up to some kid at the park and go “Hey, let’s be friends”?

Let’s start doing that again.

Wanting connection

Realm Makers was a total blast, and I met so many cool creatives.

But I also saw this:

So many people in that expo hall were eager for connection, but perpetually waiting for someone else to take the first step. Waiting for someone to come up to them–waiting for someone to take interest.

So…be the first-step taker you want to see.

It can be scary to make new connections. I get that. I lived that on the first day of the expo.

But in reality, it’s only as big of a deal as you make it out to be.

The people looking for connection are going to be stoked that you say hi, and the people that don’t will slip away from you.

And so often, someone who you thought would be unfriendly or bothered by your simple “hi” is actually super nice and eager to be friends.

It feels silly writing this all down as an adult. This all feels like a lesson I should have learned a long time ago.

And I think a lot of us did. But we forgot.

I think adults are good at forgetting.

But that’s ok. So much of life is made up of simple reminders.

So get out there. Find the audacity. Maybe it will lead to a new friendship. Maybe they’ll walk away like “What the heck.”

You’ll never know until you try.

And that’s corny, I know. But people are corny. That’s just how it works.

And if you don’t know where to start? Shoot me a message, I’d love to say hi. Find me over here!