Finley Ave
@finnave · 2:33
Who is a stranger you will never forget?
So about a year ago, I was sitting on a bench and this homeless man comes up to me or comes up and sits next to me and he's speaking poetry in such a profound way. I'm stunned. It's amazing. And we get to talking and sharing music with each other because he wanted to hear some music or something. And yeah, we just were showing each other music on the bench
Greetings, Finley. Thank you so much for opening this space and asking such a introspective question. And thank you for being so vulnerable and expressing how so this perceived random homeless person kind of just changed your life. And that's pretty dope in terms of some stranger that we will never forget. We were raised through the foster care system, so we are familiar with experiencing different foster parents. It's very rare that you kind of fall into one home and it works out
Sasha Runyen
@sasharunyen20 · 1:25
But he's taking a little bit of a different route than going to College and doing what a lot of kids our age are doing. And said he's traveling and working in each different place he travels to. And he's not from the US. He's just kind of traveling around the world right now. And I just thought it was super cool. And the way he viewed life and the way he was going about each of his experiences, I thought was super special
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Finley Ave
@finnave · 1:05
But I'm so happy that you had a positive experience with Nana and that she was able to remind you of your own potential and like, props to you for actually going out there and getting a degree because I know a lot of people in the foster care system, unfortunately, don't make it there. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you enjoy this beautiful day
Finley Ave
@finnave · 0:44
Hey, thank you for sharing. This one really resonates because I've been actually so I'm 24, but I've been contemplating, like, excuse me, should I go to College or have I taken too long of a break? Is it going to be weird trying to go back but also, like, kind of in the same mind state as him? Like, I want to travel and have experience and just enjoy every day
It kind of proved everything that I was thinking and that this guy was just not receiving the love that he needed. And I'll never forget that, because I know that I made his day, and he made my day. And those moments now, like, when I encounter them, I'm definitely going to try and not get uncomfortable quickly, because it was as simple as this guy just wanted someone to talk about. And I was that person
Finley Ave
@finnave · 1:17
Taylor, this was really heartwarming. I love that you're a very approachable person and a lot of strangers tend to find you in a crowd. I used to be that way myself, and I don't know. I don't know if it's like a choice change in presentation or just like the fact that I haven't been out a lot with Cobid that could have a factor, the masks and everything. I don't know
Cassandra Franco
@Cass_franco · 1:09
My stranger story isn't as heartwarming as these other ones, but I was on the bus, and this older middle Eastern woman, I caught her, like, staring at me a few times, and it looked like she wanted to say something to me, and I was nervous. I was like, what you gonna say? She finally speaks up, and she goes, oh, you're very pretty. And I was like, oh, thank you. Not expecting a compliment
Finley Ave
@finnave · 0:59
But you're not going to tell them that because they're a stranger and it's not their business. But yeah, it's still fun to hear. And I hope you don't have any other grandmas trying to set you up with their grandsons. But yeah, I feel like being an elderly person, I'd be a lot more patient with someone like that
Grace Salzer
@gsalzer · 2:23
Another one that I thought about was when I was in Tennessee, I was taking an Uber, and I was tired and it was a long day. And this guy, my Uber driver, was like, do you want to pet my puppy? And I was like, what are you talking about? And he just pulled out this little puppy and handed it to me. So that was amazing. I think about that a lot
Finley Ave
@finnave · 0:47
I love when people are, like, willing to talk more than small talk and share what's going on in their lives and when they're interesting characters. Ave leading an interesting life. Like you said, it makes her a lot, a lot of fun. So thanks for sharing