response essay for strangers

We were usually advised to never talk to strangers from early childhood. This is certainly smart advice for kids to follow in many circumstances since they don’t have enough ability to know the difference between someone offering them candies to kidnap and someone offering help to solve their problems. But it’s not a perfect rule we should keep as adults. David Sax discussed the topic “Why Strangers Are Good for Us”, which was published in New York Times on June 12th, 2022, to demonstrate why we should be more open-hearted and welcome strangers into our lives. Through his article, I was convinced and inclined to believe that engaging with occasional strangers can have surprising advantages to our well-being. Sax states that everyone need at least the basic minimum of communication and it would be tremendously disrespectful to ignore somebody’s greetings in the old era. The writer also emphasizes our social contract is built on interactions with strangers; he supports this view by pointing out that apart from our biological relatives, everyone including our spouse, soulmate, and best friend was someone we had never known before talking to them. Once again, Sax presents that strangers not only represent one of our most valuable and plentiful resources but also bring us closer to the community, cultivate civility, and are full of potential amazement. Another study published last fall reminds us how beneficial strangers are, that we are not only easier to open ourselves up and express our emotional feelings as well as darkest secrets with strangers but also feel more comfortable and better with them. Furthermore, Sax highlights that due to the advancement of technology, we create antipathy towards unknown people, and we try to avoid talking to or greeting them by concentrating on our smart devices. Another point that the author of the article makes is that the recent pandemic is a potential reason that leads to the absence of interaction between us. Throughout his article, he articulates our connections with strangers are significant pillars in our life and we should greet them in a friendly way. I agree with Sax’s viewpoint that engaging in conversations with strangers can enhance empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, strengthen our sense of belonging, and connect us to the world. As Sax describes this idea, “Far from human inconveniences, strangers are actually one of the richest and most important resources we have. They connect us to the community, teach us empathy, build civility, and are full of surprise and potentially wonder. ” I do believe that sometimes strangers can teach us a lot such as giving advice on life’s issues, listening to our stories, and sharing their experiences and their divergent perspectives. When we interact with people we don’t know, we get the chance to break out of our comfort zone and change our outlook on reality altogether. They also inspire us with creative ideas to think about, and plenty more to acknowledge. To prove my point, let’s take the example of my own story. I work as a receptionist at a nail shop and we have many customers walk in. One day, I met a gentle Filipino woman, who is a nurse in Northshore hospital, and had a deep conversation with her during the service; I confided to her that I struggled with my future job decision; I truly want to be a nurse but I wonder if I have good capability to pursue this path. Then she recommended a lot of books, taught me about appropriate behavior in the workplace, and gave me tons of advice and tips to study well in nursing school as well as diminish financial burdens. Fortunately, she also told me that “When you complete your CNA license, just talk to me, and I am willing to refer you to the hospital’s manager for a position. ” Then I recognized our lives can be affected in extraordinary ways by engaging in unexpected, friendly conversations with strangers. They have so much to offer us, they hold the potential keys to all kinds of knowledge that we want and help us understand more about people and how we relate to each other. Moreover, I agree with Sax that passing interactions with strangers can increase mental sharpness, improve trust and ease the sense of loneliness and isolation. Sax indicates, “A study published last fall showed that despite our fears of awkwardness, deep, meaningful conversations with strangers are not only easier than expected but also left participants feeling better about themselves. ” I read a social science book last year and I learned something incredibly ironic about interpersonal communication called closeness-communication bias. To demonstrate, once we feel close to someone, there is an unconscious tendency to tune them out because we assume we already know what they are going to say. Additionally, because we are afraid of judgment, misunderstanding, and overreacting from our families, we feel so much more comfortable and relieved to confide our secrets to strangers. Nowadays, together with the pace of the advancement of technology, we have numerous social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Omegle, etc. to connect with random people all around the world and expand our relationships. Whenever I am confused, overwhelmed, and have to deal with frustrating family affairs, I usually browse these social networking sites to find someone who will listen to me. I am aware that not everyone will respond positively when I approach them, but I don’t have to take it personally because we don’t know each other well. Overall, this article is well-drafted with the researchers, easy to comprehend, and contains strong evidence. His article changed my mindset on how I will be interacting with strangers from now on. Regarding the question of “are stranger good for us”, I would say definitely yes, they are one of the indispensable factors in our life. However, in my opinion, I believe everything always has 2 sides: benefits and drawbacks. Although strangers bring us many advantages, they are still intimidating with some potential dangers. To overcome these difficulties, we should be aware of our surroundings and know how to defend ourselves, stay away from people we feel uncomfortable with, be respectful and make the effort to communicate with strangers, and should not push it if people don’t reciprocate. Instead of thinking it’s a foolish idea to believe in people, we can enjoy and spend time with those we know while still being cautious and friendly to those we don’t. After all, aren’t we all strangers until we get to know each other?