It's A Small World After All

The universe works in mysterious ways, and someone up there has quite the plan for me.

In the past two weeks, I have had the most absurd incidences of running into people to whom I somehow am connected (and curiously, all of these run-ins occurred on the train).

1) As I settled into my seat on the Metro North, I casually glanced across the aisle, and made eye contact with an older man who looked all too familiar. He stared back at me, and I finally realized how I knew him -- he had interviewed me for grad school just a few days ago. To make sure, I asked him if he worked at [grad school], and when I told him that he had interviewed me - because I wasn't sure he remembered - he said, "I know!"

He then came over and sat next to me for the entire 45-minute ride from Scarsdale to Grand Central. Needless to say, this was way more interview time than I had bargained for, although he seemed to be quite laid back about it. He gave me advice on where I should go to grad school (curiously, he didn't name his own place of employment...) and said a few comments that were definitely borderline racist. So of course, it was really entertaining. At the end of our ride together, he gave me his card. If I don't get into that school now, I definitely know whom to blame.

2) I took Amtrak last week to visit Philadelphia for a grad school interview (at off times of the day, it's quite inexpensive to travel with them). On my return trip, I was looking for a seat when a friendly middle-aged man offered the seat next to him. He even held out his hand to hold my coffee as I got settled (which instantly made me like him). We got to talking on our 1.5 hour ride, first about Candy Crush (he was stuck on level 79) to my graduate school aspirations. He showed me pictures of his recent trip to Israel (always an instant connection). We learned that his daughter is currently attending my dream grad school and his son's alma mater is my undergraduate college. Although I had prepared many activities for the ride, it was far more enjoyable to make friends with a complete stranger. I requested him on LinkedIn (it seemed most appropriate), and maybe our paths will cross again!

3) Just this week, I got off a rush-hour train (although I was reverse-commuting) in Grand Central and starting fighting my way down the platform to the terminal. Out of the corner of my eye I see a face that looks familiar, so I turn and stare -- it's my aunt! I grabbed her arm so she turned to face me (also, I wanted to confirm that it really was her). The look on her face as she registered who was grabbing her was priceless. We ended up chatting for a little bit and learned that we had been on the same train (she from work, going into Manhattan for a book club & me from tutoring, going home to my apartment). Such a lovely surprise to be caught among the commuter frenzy and see someone with whom you share genes.


I think I should just ride the train more often.