Turning the pages I realize that I’m in presence of something unique, something truly extraordinary.

Someone once said that they a had thousands of friends, the problem is that they were all stuck between leather and paper.

The book in my hand holds a thousand lessons from a thousand friends. Tremendous amounts of knowledge condensed in a few hundred pieces of paper.

Flipping through the pages within the sea of wisdom, my eyes miraculously land on the most important lesson of all.

Something I’m still pondering as I type this. Something I will probably never forget. Something that made my brain click.

Serendipity

She looks at me and smiles. Her smile is like a promise that brings bliss to my mind.

I smile back, I put the book down on and walk towards her. I wanted to tell her something. I don’t know what, but it doesn’t matter.

“You’re still calling me Martina, right?”

Oh, oh! My smile is slowly dissipating as confusion is taking over. And all of the sudden, I start having conversations with myself.

“Quick, think of girl names!”

“Rachel, Monica, Phoebe… No that’s not it”.

The last time I had to guess a girl’s name. It was not even close!

How can this be? I’m sure her name is Martina. Have I been calling her the wrong name for the last few days?

Can’t rule it out. It’s not like I haven’t done that before.

So I just stand there staring at her, without saying a word, probably looking like a clueless idiot.

“Well, my friends and family call me Tina…”

“Oh thank God!”

She’s still talking, but I miss the last part as I’m having conversations on my own.

And now I realize... She may be reading this.

I told you I was an idiot.

Luckily for me, this is not the most embarrassing thing she caught me doing.

In fact, half the time we’ve spent together I was probably embarrassing myself non-stop.

Even that time when we went to the beach. Why couldn’t I just take a normal route like everybody else? No, I had to add my personal touch.

“Hey, let’s try to go through the dunes see if they take us there.”

Most people just wonder if this piece of sand over here connects to that piece of sand over there, that’s normal. Trying to actually navigate it on the other hand…

So there we were, lost in the middle of the white gleamy dunes that hammer you with their vastness.

I look at her, she looks so peaceful, she doesn’t seem to mind at all. Of course she doesn’t.

She’s such a cool girl.

I am such a dork.

What am I doing to this poor girl? I think to myself. I’m very comfortable with uncertainty, but she must be worried sick. I wonder about what must be going on through her head.

I bet she’s wondering if we’ll make it or not. Or If we’ll suffer from dehydration…

I mean look around, there is nobody else but us. I guess no one is crazy enough to do the same.

Later I find out that I was very wrong. In fact, she was enjoying the experience because it was different, because it was an adventure.

She said she always knew that we were gonna make it, and that everything would eventually work out.

We meet a lot of different people in life, however for some strange reason there are some that stick in our memories more than others, regardless of the amount of time spent together.

I think that what sets them apart is how they act in front of the unexpected. There is a fascinating appeal about it. And that’s why we remember them.

Now you may be wondering, why did I bring that book up in the beginning of the story?

The book in question was Tim Ferriss’s new book Tools of Titans and the sentence I was pondering was “Be your unapologetically weird self”.

Only that’s easier said than done. You have to be surrounded by people who do not feel the need to limit you wanting you to be “normal”. Whatever that is…

In that sense, Tina was amazing. And I was my unapologetically weird self around her.

Sometimes there are these people come to your life, and even though you meet them only for a short time, they remind you of so many things that you have forgotten.

When that happens, you should appreciate how lucky you are and maybe let them know how awesome they are.

Tina is such a cool girl, she has a great attitude in life and she doesn’t sweat the small stuff. She’s brave, she travels everywhere and hitchhikes alone, even in places where everyone screams ‘danger’.

I loved her sense of wonder, she wants to visit more places and meet more people. She swaps the hotels and buses for their peer-to-peer equivalent.

You often read that travel is the only thing that makes you richer, or that you should accumulate experiences instead of 127 different pairs of shoes.

But it’s rare to actually find the people that truly encompass that. When you do meet them, you inevitably get inspired by them.

She inspired me though she doesn’t know it. I didn’t tell her.

She’s too modest, she wouldn’t believe me.

On the surface it seems like it’s famous people with six packs and perfect tans that inspire you, but I’m not sure that’s true.

I think it’s the regular people from everyday life, with their own personal situations and their own issues that they face every day. It’s how they gather the courage to pursue what they want despite the resistance from their peers. It’s how they risk it all to go find themselves and discover what they love.

These are the things that inspire you.

But I didn’t tell her that.

In fact I didn’t tell her anything, I always thought she was such an amazing girl but I haven’t said a word.

She's gone now. Out to see the world.

After she left, I found a note she wrote for me on post-card. She said so many nice things, she said that I have a great sense of humor and a big heart and that she hopes that we’ll see each other again.

That’s exactly what I wanted to tell her as well, but I didn’t.

Man, I swear that sometimes women are so much braver than men.

Even at the last dinner we had, she was telling me she was beginning to feel nostalgic and I was feeling the very same thing, yet I couldn’t say anything.

Instead, I just stayed there staring like an idiot. Again.

The truth is, I’m lucky she stayed a week instead of the two days she was planning to spend in the city.

It has been a great pleasure to have met her. She taught me how important it is to choose wisely who you surround yourself with.

She left me with great memories and a set of brand new set of good habits.

She’s travelling the world now, whether she finds a new path or she returns to her career in psychology (she deals with people with burnout) either way, I’m sure she’ll excel at it and that she’ll help countless people along the way.

And more importantly, I hope she meets all kinds of interesting people and collects all sorts of exceptional memories.

So to all of you wandering souls out there, if you feel stuck in a small place and feeling that something is missing. I hope you take a chance.

After all, no one has died with regrets of having lesser adventures and experiences.

What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll go to a place like this, and meet someone like me, and inspire them to write a piece like this one.

And then you realize that the best way to help people is by doing what you love.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." ― Maya Angelou

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