Barb’s Burblings

I realized something this afternoon. I’ve been going over a few conversations I had this weekend, trying to figure out why they were sticking with me. It’s not like they were about anything particularly deep or personal…and then I realized it’s because they didn’t totally skate on the surface.

I’ve met a lot of people over the past couple of weeks, and everyone’s been very nice and I’ve hit it off with a few people, which is great. (Huzzah! I do have some social skills! I’m not forever doomed to standing around awkwardly, though I do continue to excel at that.) I found myself talking to someone whom I hadn’t talked to much, and what strikes me in retrospect is that the conversations went a bit deeper than what I’m used to when talking to someone I don’t know. Or even, really, people I do know. We didn’t get into anything particularly personal, but instead of just staying on the edges of a topic, we went into it. It wasn’t, “Who’s your favorite president?” but “Why?” “What interests you about that?” “How do you feel about this?” “Why do you think that is?” (Though not at much of an interrogation as it might sound.) Maybe it helped that there was an age gap; maybe he’s just better at making conversation than me. (This wouldn’t take much.)

But it makes me think about how shallow a lot of my conversations can be, even with close friends. Not that I don’t have more in-depth discussions, but it’s rare that a conversation about something not personal made me think–actually challenged me a bit.

Now, don’t get me wrong–I also prize my conversation about Doctor Who and traveling the world. But having a more in-depth conversation…it’s almost like college again, you know? In a good way.