Musing on the masses.

Apparently, networking is one of the many keys to Success. Meeting more people equals knowing more people equals reaching more people with your intended product, idea, message, entity... whatever. Living in a small-ish town for over eighteen years hasn't really given me a chance to "network"; I grew up already knowing quite a few people in town. But moving to Austin, to UT, to a city of over 700,000 people... I'm struggling to realize how incredibly many people I don't know. It's staggering. I leave my dorm two minutes later than usual and end up seeing 200 people I didn't see the day before on the sidewalks on my way to class. I introduce myself to the kids sitting next to me in Psychology, and the next class I walk in and cannot find any of those same people in the masses.

So what does Denise do?

Naturally, I sit next to someone new and start talking. But truth be told, I'm getting tired of being the one to start the conversations. I know I'm not the only freshman looking for new friends. I know I'm not the only person who needs a study buddy in Eco. But why am I the only one who attempts to get to know anyone new? Well, okay, I'm over-exaggerating... I have had a few people introduce themselves to me first, and there have been instances when I haven't talked to someone even though I had the opportunity. But looking back on those times, I'm hoping that tomorrow I won't make the same mistakes. Tomorrow, I will try to talk to anyone, any chance I have. And if he/she doesn't like my personality, then they can decide to stop talking. I'm not stupid - I'll get the picture, and I will shut my mouth.

But back to networking - kinda.

I guess constantly being the one to introduce myself first could help with networking; I really do want them to know who I am. Don't get me wrong: it's not because I want the most friends on Facebook, or the most people sitting with me at lunch. I just want people to know that they're not the only ones looking for someone to chill with on the weekends or play a round of ping-pong with in-between Genetics and Eco. I love people. Love. And I don't want to miss the opportunity to know some genuinely amazing person that I otherwise wouldn't know.