How are you?

I am not a big (nor small) fan of small talks. People think that because I deal and talk with a lot of people, I must be a small-talk expert. Not that anyone told me this before, but I just think that people think that chatty people are used to, and are even enjoying, invaluable meaningless conversations. Not a chance I do.

Small talks and short meaningful conversations are two different things. I always go for meaningful conversations. I believe that people are not just simply hurdles to get through or stuff like that... I believe that each human we ever meet or acquaint ourselves with add to our being. Each soul is a piece in one's story. May what had been between you two is just as little as being co-passengers in a public utility vehicle. 

A three-minute conversation that talks about experiences or lessons always means so much more than an hour of detached, I-have-to-put-up-with-this-person-so-we'll-talk-about-the title-of-his-job-and-the-route-to-his-neighborhood kind of chat. People might be often surprised when I inquire of deep and awkward topics and issues. Not that I do this in the absence of my manners or my lack of reservations, but because I am always purely curious that I wanna know a story. People are always like books, and it's always been fun reading them. I'm also not doing this because I want to bear someone's tale, but because I wanna know what inspires, fuels, squeezes someone. I devour other people's dreams, passions, and pleasures. They just add up to my inspiration to do what I wanna do, and they help me grow even more as an individual. 

I am saying these because I just realized how much annoying and uncomfortable it is for me to receive "I'm okay" or "Still the same" responses whenever I ask someone how he/she is doing. I don't ask people how they are when I don't intend to know a story---a piece of what's up in their lives. I do this because other people's stories add up to my collection of life---a non-written compilation of the beautiful and devastating things that complete my very own tale. I know that there might be times when some people might not be up to talking about themselves, and I think it is quite acceptable to receive a response that says "I'm not actually in the mood to relate to anyone what's been up with me.", and that in itself is a story.