Keepin' The Faith

After growing up and going to college in Chicago, it's no surprise that I can't turn a corner in the city without running into someone that I know. It's strange, but I've noticed that whenever I run into someone from high school, we always stop to talk and catch up as if we were best friends back then. In reality, I'm not sure if we even spoke more than once in high school. The same thing usually happens when I run into people from NU also.

Every single one of these conversations is ended in the same manner. There's always the "It was good seeing you. Let's do lunch." or the trading of cell phone numbers and email addresses. Maybe it's only me, but I never follow through on these promises of keeping in touch and having lunch. I always saw the closing as just a polite formality and a part of the script.

All of that changed for me two weeks ago when I ran into an old NU acquaintance at Einstein's Bagels. She and I had the usual catch-up conversation. When it was time to part ways, we traded contact information and promised to meet up for lunch. I took this as an empty promise, just like all the others.

Boy, did I need to wipe the egg off of my face. She emailed me a very nice and sincere message a couple of days later. And just like that, my faith in people was restored.

I know that these things aren't one-sided. The next time I give someone my contact information or tell them that we're going to do lunch, I'm going to follow through with my word.

So, Christina, thanks for restoring my faith. And Mikers, thanks for always being a man of your word. :)