I've watched a few videos recently about how much time we as humans use our electronic devices. We can't seem to live without our cell phones, computers, or iPads. I recently went 4 months without a cell phone, it was actually liberating at times. I found I didn't have the same distractions throughout my day as I used to with a smart phone. I learned to communicate through email and valued my personal interactions with people during the week. We absorb ourselves in social networks like facebook, twitter, Instagram, facetime and so many more... Since when do we actually make time for real old fashioned "facetime"?
We don't go out of our way anymore to meet for coffee. It's easier to take a photo of the coffee we are drinking and Instagram it, showing everyone what we've been up too. And outside of our normal daily routines we don't make quality time for the people in our lives. I have a routine just like others. I go to work. I play Ultimate. I sometimes hang out with friends. And somewhere in there I spend a little time with my family.
My decision of which competitive team to play with this year was based off of which players I enjoyed spending time with the most. I had played with many of them on and off for years. But how many of those ladies do I actually know? Which ones have I made time to get to know outside of practices, tournaments or social drinking gatherings? They are my teammates, but how many of them can I call my friend?
This got me thinking. What if I decided to break the mold of solely using social media to make me feel connected to people this year? What if I brought back the good ol' coffee shop date? I want to make time for more people this year. I want to cultivate friendships with people I see a lot but maybe don't feel like I know very well. I want to get to know some people better, more than the routine small talk. I'd like to go from having teammates, to having friends.
So this year, in celebration of my 30th birthday, I'm going to start a project I'm calling "Coffee Shop 52". I want to go back to when we as humans actually got together one on one and spent time with each other, either getting to know one another or just enjoying the same space and time together. Without cell phones. One coffee shop date each week with a different person for a year. I want to take the time to get to know people I see a lot in my community but haven't gone out of my way to get to know better.
If you've read this far, maybe you'll be interested in being apart of this project? Feel free to let me know if you'd like to make the cut! I look forward to seeing where Coffee Shop 52 takes me this year.
