thoughts
on neighbors moving out
My neighbors from across the hallway moved out tonight. I didn't even know their names.
Now, I haven't been in my new apartment all that long. But it's been long enough to where I would have thought I would have at least met them or something. Instead, the first time that I actually met them was tonight, when they knocked on my door to ask for a pair of scissors to use.
You know, I've never been one to be very outgoing or anything when it comes to meeting new people, but it seems to me that most people nowadays don't really get to know their neighbors all that well. In college, it's kinda understandable at first...you can have people on different schedules and the like. But you'd think eventually that I'd meet my neighbors. Nope...I never did. Never in four years of college did I do it.
I have to wonder...how many friendships have I missed that way? How many friendships has everybody missed because of someone not taking the courage to say hello?
And for that matter, what about other things? I wonder how many marriages never came about because one of the two couldn't get up the nerve to say hi. How many business partnerships never were formed?
And what of society? We've become a nation that knows people across the nation via the Internet better than we know the people across the hall. The more we keep to ourselves, the more that spirit will foster. Knowing your neighbors leads to a sense of community, which is pretty much a good thing. The more that people get to know each other, the more compassionate they'll be for their fellow man, and that's definitely something that's needed in today's society.
So maybe we should take the time to get to know our neighbors...who knows what may come of it? After all, it's more fun borrowing stuff from your neighbors when they're your friends too.