An Ode to Overy

A few years ago, on a chilly morning, I sat in a queue at the Verulam licensing department. On my right was my mom and to my left was a guy – attractive but in a way that is unapproachable – and his father next to him. Somehow, we got talking, he was far from being unapproachable. In fact, he let me skip ahead of him. 

This is no love story, granted he is everything a girl would want (athletic; outdoorsy; has nice hands and snakes; is respectful) – but this is simply how I met a person who intrigues me to this day. 

He embodied traits that I wanted to adopt. I wanted to be active, and go on adventures. I wanted to be exciting. 

I found myself doing more and living fully – I had always wanted to surf, but something held me back. Would anything hold him back from something he wanted to do? Nope. If no one wanted to join, he’d do it himself. And slowly, I became even more independent and less afraid to do things on my own. I am now fiercely independent with the confidence to do things on my own.
 
Sometimes, we don’t realize that it’s the people we meet who influence us more than we care to admit, even in the briefest interactions.  

Today, we went for a “walk” – and a walk with him could mean anything from a casual stroll to a full blown hike. I was smart and wore sneakers. 

As you can see… I took photos. 

I found that I’m always connected to my cell phone. He chooses to have nothing on him, he is present in conversations and he experiences everything – even casual walks on the beach. In fact, he takes feeling seriously and ditched his slops. 
For whatever reason I had my cell phone on me, I had a different experience – I worried about getting it wet or falling. I was distracted at times. Luckily for me, I am aware of my flaws, and attaching my phone to me as if it’s another limb is a flaw. I tell myself it’s because I like to capture moments, this is true, but sometimes moments are there to be felt and remembered. 

In 2017, when we take photos and capture moments, is it really for us or is it for others to like and admire / envy our lives? 

When I asked him why he doesn’t post his amazing photos on social media, he simply said that his photos are for himself. 

So, thanks Aidan. Thanks for a unique friendship and lessons. 

Logging off… 📴