today i’m thinking about the people who’ve left a lasting impression in my memory, but whom i’ve never spoken a word to and by extension, will likely never meet again. these could have been bystanders to a poignant moment in my life, or strangers whom i’ve shared experiences but for some reason never struck up conversation with. there aren’t that many people who fit the bill, but there are a few who stick out in my mind.
there was, for instance, one guy who used to walk down his long gravel driveway to meet my school bus every day at precisely 3:30 PM, his wrist gripped tightly by a parent or guardian who accompanied him. he would stop just short of where the bus passed by his driveway, kicking up clouds of dust into his face, and he would wince and close his eyes, still smiling and waving, and then turn back around towards the ranch-style house he had emerged from, which was partially secluded from the main road. sometimes, if he came outside before our bus passed his house, he would visit his mailbox first and then lean against it as he waited for us; we would know we were running late by the sight of a stack of envelopes clutched in his non-waving hand.
i wrote an essay about the man who waved at my school bus for my college application to NYU. i talked about how i had come to expect and take comfort in his daily presence, although i didn’t know his name or age or anything about him except that he loved waving to strangers and seemed to have some type of disability (which i assumed based on the continual presence of a guardian who accompanied him on his trips up and down the driveway). i mentioned that i almost always waved back to him, though i couldn’t tell from my vantage point on the bus whether he saw me waving or not. and i mentioned that i had a feeling that i would remember him forever, although i might never see him again after moving away for college…
i have no idea if that man indirectly helped me get into NYU (or if the admissions team read my essay at all - i have my doubts!) but if nothing else, i am in wonder that high-school-me had the right instinct about the things i would still remember and think about all these years later: those forget-me-not moments in life, and the people whose proper names i may never know, but whom i cherish all the same.
You really get into the grains of life and I love it. I am going to yoink your idea and write about this as well. And you waving is so You!
I find myself thinking about these small moments in time. Decisions made in split seconds, smiling at someone, waving, saying something nice to them. I always try to come out of my comfort zone by saying nice things to strangers, i’m usually an introvert but I find great joy in doing these things. I haven’t done it in a while but this really made me want to start doing it again because you truly never know how much it’ll resonate with someone! Thank you