If you’ve read HESONWHEELS for any legitimate period of time, you know all about how much I love to throw intimate gatherings called Stranger Dinners. If you haven’t, that’s okay – catch up here. :)

When I first started planning these dinners, I never thought of any kind of “legacy” that could be formed from it. I just thought it was a little hobby that I would keep executing as I continued to travel, and meet more “1 new person everyday”‘s and things like that (what horrible grammar…I’m not sure how else to say that though!). So you can understand that I was both shocked and humbled when I received this message from my friend Alex G. a few months back, just a few days after my birthday.

The next semester, Alex was full speed ahead. In the Facebook group, he described them as “Stranger Dinners are a way for people in the Blacksburg area to meet and connect with others! (inspired by Justin Graves)”. WUT. Inspired? WUTTTTTTTT. Mind blown. 

And his intentions were incredibly spot on. After I explained some of the loose mechanics behind the Stranger Dinner Alex said,

“I feel like there are so many people (especially underclassmen now that I’m a junior) on the campus who have wonderful stories and would be great friends if the right opportunity came along to meet them.”

That is what meeting 1 new person everyday is all about, precisely. With that ethos, I was ecstatic to see Stranger Dinners continue in Blacksburg.

On top of that, I was impressed by Alex reaching out because although we have met a couple of times on-campus while I was still a student, it’s not like Alex and I are super duper close. I always appreciate people that reach out in situations like that. To close, I want to share a photo from Alex’s first Stranger Dinner as curator. I want to also give a shout out to my friend Kaylyn D., who attended one of the previous Stranger Dinners that I curated in Blacksburg…and attended this one as well!