"Nice to Meet You", by Emily Nudge

I was born in 1971. I am 37 years old. I have met a lot of people in my life. I have been to many places and have interacted with many different types of people, both young and old. I am blessed with having been influenced by many and have had the honor of influencing many on my own.

Sometimes I will see someone who recognizes me. They will say, "Hello Emily!" I will look at them with a blank stare and wonder how they know me. I will have no recollection of when we might have interacted long enough for them to remember my name; let alone remember my name in connection with who I am physically. I will say "hello" back to them and try to not have a conversation with them for fear of showing that I have no idea who they are.

However if I know that our paths will cross numerous times after this first encounter I'll fess up right away that I do not remember them or how we meet. The person will inform me and I'll have to trust them that they know what they are talking about. Most of the time I'll do some research and figure out that what they say is indeed true. I'll ask around or look in a photo album from that time period and sure enough there they are.

I wish this phenomenon wasn't the case – I wish I remembered more people who have walked the same path as me. I know that if I saw someone who worked with me in 1989 at Camp Hoover I'd have a hard time remembering his or her name. I know that if I crossed paths with someone from college I'd not know who they were at all. I know this.

I also know that there are many people I remember and when we see each other I try to make eye contact with me and I can see in their eyes that they know who I am but refuse to acknowledge me. They look away and the line of the mouth changes as if they are holding back what they might want to say. They quickly get busy with what they are doing so they don't have to look back. I try to keep looking at them so that if there is a chance they want to change their minds that I am there to receive them but this never happens. I know that sometimes the past is best left in the past.

I firmly believe that humans cross paths for a purpose. Our journey as a human on this planet does things for each other. My interactions with one person might cross someone else's path when I'm not even physically there. I know that we smile and cry and kiss and hug and stumble with each other or against each other and that all this makes an impact on our lives.