Can I stick by you?

I’m writing this post from a French restaurant, which is fancy enough to make me feel like I don’t belong here.

But here I am, in a city I don’t belong to, visiting for the very first time, all by myself.

Let me back up a bit.

I’m a nervous traveler, a nervous adventurer, and a nervous person in general. I actually said this at work last week: I do not have a nervous system. I am the nervous system.

Right now, I am in Washington DC, roaming around, and I might be going to a couple of concerts this weekend. 

And my Uber driver just dumped me off in the middle of the street next to a tour bus…

Anyway, I was very nervous yesterday, when I was traveling to get here. I woke up nervous, I left to drive to the airport nervous, and I was a nervous wreck during my layover in Chicago.

But in Chicago, our flight had 36 people on a plane that held 175 people. It was not that stressful. And the gate to my connecting flight in Chicago was about four gates away from my arrival gate.

Also not that stressful.

I calmed down a lot in Chicago, and decided that I was going to put my brave face on and stop being so nervous.

At the airport in DC, a kind college student approached me. She was traveling alone, and she asked me if I was alone. 

When I told her that I was, she asked me if she could stick with me. 

Of course, kind college student. Of course.

At that moment, I suddenly became the leader in a city I’ve never been to and to someone I had just met. 

I laughed when I woke up this morning, and thought: one way to grow up is having to take care of a child.

😆 

So last night, in the wee dark hours of about 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., two independent women traveling alone found each other, became buddies, and successfully navigated the DC Metro by themselves. 

Well, by themselves with each other.

Whatever.

Thank you, kind stranger whose cell phone number I now have. Thank you for approaching me and to looking to me for guidance. 

I rarely look to myself for that, and I need to do that more often. 

Also, don’t underestimate the kindness and beauty that people have to offer. 

Ever.