People are good. Like really, really good.
On a day back in the States built around remembrance, I thought a reminder of this very simple point seemed fitting.
One month ago I set out on a year-long adventure around the world. 12 different cities in 12 months. I left Boston alone and was greeted in Split, Croatia by 50+ other travelers. 50 travelers who were different in every way. Race, religious beliefs, occupation, sexual orientation, age, marital status, the list goes on and on. We couldn’t possibly be any more different. And at the same time, we weren’t really different at all.
We all left home alone to travel the world. We’re all smart, driven, goofy, quirky, adventurous people. We’re all simply that. People. Just good people.
The world we live in today can often seem bleak. You turn on the news and can’t go more than 5 minutes without being met with crime and terror. Just this month, we watched as tragedy struck Manchester, the homeland of one of our traveling tribe. It’s terrible. It’s tragic. It might leave you questioning if there is still good in this world.
Trust me, there is. We had all just met, but what did this group of strangers do? We picked up our new friend.
People are good.
This month I’ve watched as a girl from Brooklyn and a guy from South Korea somehow transformed into a best friends who act like a bickering old married couple. I’ve watched as a Puerto Rican tried to instill her Latin flair on the rhythmically challenged (Note: I’m the ‘rhythmically challenged’). I’ve watched as a Sri Lankan, an Australian and a New Hampshire farm boy bunked up and swapped stories of lost love (or at least really bad pickup attempts…). I mean, I’ve been here for 4 weeks and I think I’ve watched myself fall in love with a German girl.
People are good.
The world sucks sometimes, sure. You can watch the news and start to believe that people are bad. Or you can actually get out and meet people and realize that people are good.
Today back home we celebrate Memorial Day. It’s a day to remember the good people who gave their lives, so that we could drink and laugh and travel and explore (and probably drink some more) with other good people who we love.
So, on a day where we remember, a reminder:
People are good.