Cultivate a more diverse circle of friends

I just loved seeing so many people from all different walks of life connecting. I could still take this further, and I will continue to do so. But I’d say my original intent has been met, so I am marking this as done.

I used to live in a neighborhood populated mostly by young white hipsters. Today I took advantage of the spring weather by working in the yard, and got a chance to meet many of my new neighbors, including: several African-American families with young children, a Latino family with young children, an Indian family, a white lesbian couple with a teenage son, an elderly woman living alone, and an elderly couple with strong accents I couldn’t place (I’ll have to ask them their story another time). What a rich neighborhood I live in—I can’t wait for the block parties!

Not fun for my guest. Sure, Minnesota is still something of a Scandanavian stronghold and all-white gatherings probably aren’t uncommon.

But that’s not what I want for my life. I don’t want to limit my life experience and my relationships to people who are very much like me (in terms of age, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, lifestyle, religion, education, etc.).

At this moment, however, although I am friendly with a large and diverse circle of acquaintences, most of my inner circle are a lot like me. I’d like to reach out and take the chance to let some other kinds of people in. This is my small and personal way of healing the distance between people.

And if and when I ever get married, I’d like the gathering to reflect a much richer diversity.