The "Otherness" in the People

The day I was to have my blog topic picked I texted some of my closest friends one question.

"If you could pick the subject for my blog, what are a couple of things that you would reading about from my perspective?"

The responses I got back were so descriptive of me, and I loved being able to see just how well people knew me. Some people wanted to hear about traveling and the outdoors. Others wanted to hear about service and humanitarian work. I had friends who simply wanted to hear about my job, or what life was like outside of the United States. There were two responses that really stuck out to me though.

"You are good at understanding "otherness" in people. You see people as they are and, whether or not you share a lot in common, you always try to understand them. It doesn't mean you have to embrace contrary ideas; it just means you seek to gain greater understanding. A blog about oneself is sort of interesting. A blog that generously observes others might be even better." 

"You soak in people's individuality and when you write about them those characters come to life and the audience connects with them. I think your blog could be just day to day life and ironic interactions with people that display the diversity and uniqueness of people in a way that makes others appreciate differences." 

The responses these two men gave were both exactly what I wanted to write about and incredible compliments. I remember loving the idea from the very beginning, but somehow in the mix of everything I'd forgotten. The story aspect was still there, but the "otherness" and diversity factors were replaced with good deeds instead. Now, I don't know if I am allowed to do this part way through the semester, but I am going to do it anyways. I'm going to change my blog to the idea I fell in love with originally. I'm going to make this a blog about differences and my everyday interactions with people.