Sunday Real Talk: We All Start Out as Strangers

We really do.

Every relationship. Every friendship. Every love. Every place we walk into hoping to belong.

Some strangers stay strangers.

Some become familiar faces we respect but never deeply connect with.

Some turn into friends, lovers, business partners — for a reason, a season, or if you’re lucky, a lifetime.

The truth is, not all relationships are built by choice.

Sometimes people are placed in our lives by circumstance, proximity, or timing — and we do the best we can with what we’re given.

I don’t need to know people’s business.

And I don’t need them knowing mine.

What matters to me is kindness.

Responsibility.

Consistency.

Showing up with effort and respect.

I’ve learned that familiarity doesn’t always equal connection — and that’s okay. Not every relationship needs depth to be meaningful. Some simply need decency and mutual regard.

I think about the days when I rode the bus and saw the same people every morning.

We didn’t share stories.

We shared acknowledgment.

A nod. A greeting. A sense of humanity.

Somewhere along the way, names from school faded.

Not because they didn’t matter — but because not every connection was meant to last. Some memories soften when their purpose has been fulfilled.

Dating follows its own rhythm.

Attraction. Conversation. The honeymoon stage.

Then time steps in and asks the real questions:

Does this feel right?

Does this feel safe?

Does this feel aligned?

And if not… sometimes strangers become strangers again.

And then there was Flava Coffee House.

People walked in as strangers.

They stayed because the space was safe.

Open Mic Fridays.

Potlucks on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Music. Coffee. Presence.

Some people became family.

Some just passed through.

Everyone was welcome.

That place taught me something I still believe:

Strangers aren’t the problem.

Unwelcoming spaces are.

We all start out as strangers.

What we become depends on intention, effort, and the environment we’re standing in.

And that’s real talk.