People.

People. We all have people we love, people we dislike, people we go to for advice, people we see on a regular basis or people we see in class every day. People are amazing because they come in all shapes and sizes, and everyone has their own unique personality. 

The simplest thing inspired me to write this article. I was on the bus when I saw a girl standing at a crosswalk. Her hair was caught in her lip gloss, and she pulled her hair back and then she was gone. It was quick and simple, yet while I noticed how our appearances were different, I still could relate to her. I get my hair stuck in my lip gloss all the time. It sounds silly, but I began thinking about how “different” people can seem to each other on the outside, but in actuality, we can relate to each other on deeper levels.

My time at UK has also taught me this. As a sophomore, I have talked to many kinds of people. People of other religions, people of other domiciles, people who don’t look like me and people who do, people who are older and younger than me, and yet I can almost always find something that puts us both on the same level as human beings. I love finding the human in people. I love relating to people and making people feel like they are relatable. Things like social media tend to distance us at times. It’s hard to see the human in someone through a screen or through a text. It’s odd because something that was meant to bring us together has slowly stripped away the little joys in life, such as having a conversation without the mind-racing thoughts of what’s next on the to-do list, or going on a walk, losing track of time and maybe wandering to a local restaurant you’ve just discovered with a friend. I feel like as humans, we need these little joys to stay sane in this crazy world.

Through my years of experience, I have found that everyone is fighting their own battle in life (obviously...), but if we acknowledge that and take a step back to realize that we can find commonality in the little things such as a favorite coffee shop, clothing store, place to travel or even silly little idiosyncrasies like getting your hair stuck in your lip gloss, there is always something that you can do to bring joy to another person, and in turn, bring yourself that same joy of realizing you are not the only human going through something. We are truly all in this together, no matter how much we distance each other in this world. I believe in humanity, and I believe that the world has the potential to come together and be more... relatable.