It's A Small World After All

I've always felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to live overseas during my elementary through middle school years and to attend boarding school. Both of these experiences allowed me to meet people from literally all over the world. A lot of my perceptions about various countries and cultures are mostly based on my interaction with peers from all around the world and not on what I see on the news.
Often the world seems so vast and over time we lose touch with people, wonder what they've been up to, and perhaps are only connected to them by way of social media. However, as large as the world is, sometimes we are reminded just how small it is as well.
It's A Small World #1
Recently, I received a call from an old friend from my days in Nigeria. There I sat at my desk listening to a message (with my mouth open) as I heard a voice from the past, the 4th grade past.  You know a school experience is long lasting when you get a call from an American International School of Lagos friend you haven't seen in thirty-one years. Let me also share that I have very vivid memories of my time in Nigeria. I remember friends, teachers, four-square, first dances, and the like. These are the experiences in life that stick with you when you are living in a country that is not your own. So why the call from my old friend? He wanted to let me know that a young man he knows is considering attending the school I work at and that if he comes, I'd be his dean. Small World! It was really great catching up Byron after all these years! Let's just say we had a lot of years to cram into our call, but it was fun to learn about each others journey since Lagos. This random moment of reconnection is a reminder of how shared experiences really can bond people for life. #AIS4life


It's A Small World #2
So the blast from the past, it's a small world did not just stop with reconnecting with my 4th grade friend. At the end of that same weekend, I had an "it's a small world in boarding schools" moment when I saw a photo of my East Dorm adult from my first two years as a student at the Madeira School on a colleague's Facebook page. What was the connection? After some serious scrolling and connecting the dots, it turns out that my current colleague is the granddaughter of my house adult Sam King who would have been 93 years old that Sunday. Mind blown. I couldn't wait to see my colleague at lunch the next day and, of course, her first question was "Why did you like a picture on my grandmother on Facebook?" So I told her. It was so fun to share my memories of Sam with her granddaughter. It also reminded me of what I learned from Ms. King which was that you can be tough and hold students to high standards when it comes to behavior, while caring deeply about them and who they will become.

The world is smaller than we think, so treasure each moment, remember than you can learn something from everyone and every experience, and be mindful of how you treat people because there's always a chance that your paths will cross again.