So far, I’ve lived most of my life in a small town. My graduating class was about 120 people; it’s definitely one of those communities where everyone knows everyone else. It’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re in a decent sized city for about five minutes and then, next thing you know, you’re completely surrounded by cornfields and it feels like you’re about to star in the reality TV adaptation of Deliverance.

So I’ve seen a lot of the same stuff, over and over again. Mostly corn and jacked up Fords. I’ve traveled a tiny bit, but mostly I’ve been in the same old place, doing the same old shit.

Until I started this job a few years ago.

I wouldn’t call myself a traveling salesperson but I’m definitely a salesperson…who…travels. The closest “big” city is Columbus. Yeah; that Columbus. The one in Ohio. It’s a lot better for someone who makes commission than my little town is. It’s more densely populated and people have more money. So to me, it’s worth two hours of commuting back and forth every day.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit this but it feels like another universe compared to what I was used to. There’s actually some diversity. Strangers talk to each other in public instead of doing everything in their power to completely zone out and avoid human interaction at all costs. From a salesguy’s perspective, people engage and communicate their wants and needs instead of avoiding me like the plague.

Being social is just a part of life in the city and that’s fucking bananas to me.

People cover more ground. I’ve gotten to know random people from hundreds of miles away. People I otherwise never would have met if we didn’t travel the same roads around the same time of day. Someone in line at a convenience store or the bagel place I stop by in the morning when I’m on that side of town. The old guy who randomly shows up to wash the windows every few weeks. Delivery guys who make their rounds a couple times a month.

It’s the gray area between friends and acquaintances. Recurring strangers. People you don’t hang out with or even talk to outside of regularly scheduled happenstance but you’ve still managed to build an ongoing rapport. You catch up when you cross paths every once in a while and then don’t really think about each other until you meet again. In another life you might’ve been hanging out all the time.

That happens in our backwards little town too, but it’s not quite the same. It’s literally the same people, all the time. You’ll see an old coworker at Kroger and three hours later they’re sitting next to you in the waiting room at Great Clips. Or you’ll see an ex and make a break for it, but then you run into their parents when you stop by the gas station on your way home.

The world feels bigger after venturing a little further into it. Social anxiety tells me everyone’s an asshole who’s out to get me, especially in a busy city. That’s silly though. Sure; some people are monsters but most people aren’t half bad.