Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, but I am still feeling deeply grateful for something that changed my world this year.
At the end of the summer, before taking on the challenging but rewarding responsibilities of being Editor-in-Chief of The Current, I found myself on a Greyhound bus heading to Georgia to attend a conference for college newspaper editors, a bit of an annual editor's boot camp held at the University of Georgia in Athens.
After sitting as patiently as possible in an uncomfortable seat on a crowded bus for roughly four hours, I found myself feeling like that very bus had hit me.
It may seem silly, that as a college student in my late 20s I found myself gazing at an attractive guy who walked on the bus and was soon squished to the back row. The man sitting next to me, who had been telling me about his recent breakup, actually snapped his fingers in my face to get my attention focused back on his tale.
Unfortunately for him, my poor brain had turned to mush, and I was feeling like a girl in grade school with a crush. Feeling a bit foolish and far too shy, I would look back at him every so often, but I could not be bothered with scrounging up the nerve to strike up a conversation with him.
Fortunately for me, though, my seat buddy happened to be in need of a cigarette when we were stopped in Nashville, Tenn. As his newly found friend of a few hours, we paired up for the search and ended up talking to the guy who had caught my eye.
His name was Hugh, and we hit it off pretty quickly, right before realizing our next bus was about to depart. Still feeling shy, I wanted to invite him to sit next to me, though I did not; my previous bus seat pal had to hop on another bus at the stop before.
We talked a bit on the bus, had a few smokes together at the bus stops, then ended up grabbing some coffee at our final stop together at the Atlanta Greyhound station, where I promptly spilled most of my coffee all over his suitcase while watching over his things as he grabbed some cream and sugar.
I was embarrassed, of course, but his smile melted away my embarrassment, and it was not long before he had to get on his next bus, where he was heading to Florida. Our connection could have ended there, but I was not about to let that happen. I dug into my bag for my notebook and a pen to get his e-mail address.
I had never seen anyone give me quite the same happy look as he did when I told him how I would like to stay in touch after a few goodbyes and a hug, which resulted in me spilling even more coffee.
I had the feeling that it was the beginning of something much more than a few laughs on a bus and several ounces of spilt coffee. We got in touch, and it turned out he also had been too shy to ask me to sit beside him, although he had wanted to do so.
He made sure we kept in touch, and what could have been a brief encounter on a Greyhound bus bloomed into one of the most inspirational relationships I have ever had.
Things are not always perfect; there is quite a bit of distance between us, which makes it difficult. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but no other relationship has made me smile so much that my face hurts. Every bump in the road has got nothing on that.
I am so thankful for him and the incredible opportunity we are sharing with each other and seeing where our relationship goes.
However, what we have now might not have had a chance if we had not taken the chance to get to know a random person. One moment, one encounter can change a life, an outlook, hope and maybe even a future.
It can get us to let someone into our lives.
I cannot say what will become of the two strangers who found something more than an uncomfortable ride on a bus. All I can say is I am thankful for what I have now and hopeful that maybe someone else out there will take the chance to not let an opportunity slip their fingers.
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