People crave familiarity

I used to hate it when this happened.

I’d be in the vicinity of someone south Asian, and after a few niceties, they say: “so where are you from?”

My typical response is “Rockville.”

But then they hit me with “where are you really from?”

“My parents are from Pakistan.”

This happened today with the handyman who was helping me mount the ceiling projector.

For the first time, I wondered why people do this. It’s not just to make conversation. They crave familiarity. They crave contact with someone from their tribe.

If I can be that for someone, then I suppose I will.

Written: 2024-03-26