I say hello, you say goodbye

I lean onto the train window, staring at the snow draped farm lands, naked trees, deserted muddy roads, and a distantly shy sun. Vast open land, cold and seemingly lonely territory being interrupted by the rhythmic rickety sound of the train. Roughly 2 hours ago, my brother and I stared out of the same window, waving our hands to our parents as they mirrored us from their car window. The lady in front of me waved to what seemed like her husband. They tried to communicate with a makeshift sign language. He pointed to his eye, drew a warm heart through the cold air, and then pointed to her. She tried to lean closer to him, but her window would not give, it was stubborn. The lady across of her waved to her husband (unless that big rock on her wedding finger was accessory jewelry), he waved back and walked away. As she watched him walk away, her lower eyelid was shaking under the weight of that tear drop, a drop that said I miss you already.

Train stations trigger a lot of emotions and thoughts. People come, people go. Some have no one to wave to but await smiles at their destination. Others wave to their loved ones, and hopefully have smiles at their destination too. Then there are people who seem to have nothing. I sit here staring out of my window and wonder about the day I won’t have my parents to wave to. Which category would I fit in when that day happens? And does it matter which category I’m in? I feel grounded in who I am, what I can do, and proud of what I have accomplished so far, but I realize that deep down I’m like most people. You are unique, like everyone else. Deep down, like any normal human being, we all have a fear of being alone. However, I don’t believe that everyone is aware of that fact. Humans are social creatures, and without that characteristic, we would have been long extinct. This characteristic manifests itself in different areas of people’s lives. If you open your eyes, you’ll see this longing to connect with others through normal day to day interactions, facebook (how many friends do you have and why do you keep going back to see what others are doing?), myspace, msn, blogs, personal relationships (note how many people try to quickly replace their ex b.f./g.f. for the sake of not being alone) etc. Like strands in a fabric of a society, we try to connect with one another whether we realize it or not. Sometimes I wonder if more people realize the cores and pillars of what makes us human, what makes us behave the way we do, then if the world would have less conflicts.

I’ve reached my destination, and a world awaits me.