There are nearly 7.8 billion people in the world. According to the New York Times, the average person only knows about 600 of them. Think about that. There is only a tiny percentage of people you know in this whole wide world.

The rest are strangers. But they don’t have to be.

Everyone has a story, and everyone has life experiences. The person standing next to you on a bus may have just dealt with a tragic loss. The woman you walk by in a park may have just started a multimillion dollar company. The man you see in line at a coffee shop may have just adopted a dog hoping it will solve all his life problems.

It is so valuable to gain insight into other people’s lives, and the simplest way to do that is just to talk to them. The thing is, sometimes that is scary. You might think, “oh, they are preoccupied with their phone, why would they want to talk to a stranger?” You might not know what to say. In reality, the more people you meet, the more things you will know about life.

As a teenager (like every other student at WHHS), I don’t know a lot about life yet. I think one of the most important ways to learn about it, however, is through strangers. Odd, I know. But if you only talk to the same people you are surrounded by everyday, you get caught up in your own world. Surrounded by the same thoughts and topics. Doing the same thing everyday with one goal in mind for your future.

At least that’s how it was for me. I always thought of myself as someone who would go to college, study medicine, become a doctor and pursue that as a career. 

Then, one day, I passed out when getting blood drawn. Yeah, maybe medicine isn’t the career for me. 

I panicked. I had, for some reason, planned my life around something all of my friends seemed to want to do, and now I didn’t know what I was passionate about. 

It wasn’t until I started to meet new people with different passions that this changed. I worked at the zoo and talked to so many employees and guests. I met people who were passionate about the environment, and some who weren’t. I met people who loved their job as a stay at home mom, and some who were workaholics. 

I finally was given this advice: Do whatever makes you happy. Don’t worry about all the other stuff, it will all workout if you are happy with what you are doing.

Cliche, I know. But what makes someone happy? 

As I’ve learned from strangers, It doesn’t necessarily need to be a career, but can be the smallest things in life.

Watch the full video to find out what seven strangers had to say about finding true happiness.