Ever inadvertently see someone around campus so much that you feel compelled to try the cold calling technique and meet him or her without much common ground?
Try it sometime.
Our school is small enough that you will see so many of the same faces but never know most of them. If someone is too snotty to humor the idea, then it is likely that person is not worthy of your time.
I keep meeting people through the most random means, and everyone at this school seems connected one way or another despite differences in interests.
Everyone knows about Kemy Joseph and his encouraging signs as they see him in passing by the Rock, but how many people know all the people who know Kemy? Not a lot I would predict.
Hell, even try it out on me some time. Although I am shy at times, I must warn you: if you’ve seen me a million times and feel inclined to chat, come up to me and let’s talk. There’s really no reason to not build up networking, especially as we all prepare to get ejected into some of the worst financial times since the Great Depression.
Even business talk aside (networking is almost as cringe worthy of a term as being “sexually active”), what’s the harm in knowing more people? It makes time fly and life more enjoyable in general. We keep building up barriers to prevent ourselves from opening up, but I don’t really understand why besides as a defensive mechanism.
Even then, defense against what?
A look around campus would indicate our school is flooded with only superficial people, but I am continually impressed and surprised by how many unique, relaxed and intelligent people I’ve stumbled across. It’s quite easy especially when you meet someone who’s in one or more of your classes that you run into elsewhere.
We all like having personal time, but we also want to meet as many people as possible. After this, the nine-to-five shifts aren’t exactly a screaming opportunity for socializing.
Evan Seaman is a junior majoring in marketing. He may be contacted at eseaman@themiamihurricane.com. His blog can be visited at http://perturbedheaven.blogspot.com/