A life of 'What if'

There are 2 types of people when getting into an Uber. The one who doesn't want to talk to anyone and just sits there awkwardly for the whole ride. And the other who talks to everyone in the car including driver. I am that person. That person that almost everyone despises. But oh well! I'm from the south and love to talk to anyone and everyone! My friends joke around I can make friends with a tree.

The other day in one of my many uber rides because my short stubby legs can't get me places fast enough and I love to wait till last minute to do everything! I had a very energetic driver, it would have been fine. But it was 8am. I'm not awake at 8 in the morning. But my usual self sparked up a conversation. I explained to him how I was taking a bus to go visit my brother and his family for the weekend. And he asked why I wouldn't just fly as it is a 6 hour bus ride. And I went on to tell him that I'm a college student and can't afford an expensive flight that would cut my time in more than half. I can get work done and disconnect from the world for 6 hours.

He then explained how he wouldn't want to be on a bus for that long because what if this or that happens (giving scary outcomes). Then continued to go on about how he met someone the other day at the park who was kayaking and he asked the person if they knew how to swim. And the kayaker said that he didn't. The uber driver then tells the kayaker what if your boat tips over. How will you help yourself.

My uber drive was about 10min. So for about 5 of those min he was giving many many every day tasks then following them with the what ifs again. I couldn't help think to myself what if I lived every single day asking myself what if. How would you get anywhere in life?

Now here's where my rebuttal comes in- for about 3 years I struggled with social anxiety and depression. So my day did consist of asking myself that question with everything I did, every conversation I had. During this ride I couldn't help think about how weird it was that he was so nervous about everything. But I didn't think that he may have a mental illness. Even as someone who has struggled for years with this. Sometimes we need to step back and look at the bigger picture. Instead of judging him for thinking this way. I should have encouraged him

I've now realized the world is our oyster is should try our best to not allow things to get in the way of exploring that oyster. When we come across people who are stuck with exploring their oyster, then we need to give them a boost of encouragement