Do not hesitate to greet a familiar face
Have you ever encountered a series of bad luck in a single day, feeling too upset to even raise your head, but suddenly got a praise from the girl living next to your dorm saying “You looks so beautiful today, I love your pink coat” when you came home desperately? This was what I experienced last Friday. All of a sudden, I felt like I was finally noticed by someone at the end of the worst day in my life, and there was a spark that lighted my heart. I was so surprised to find how much influence an acquaintance can bring to me.
We have covered the “weak tie theory” in lecture last week, primarily using an example of getting a job reference from a friend’s friend to argue that sometimes acquaintances are more influential than close friends. I totally agree with this statement, and according to my life experience, I found that weak ties maybe more powerful than I thought not only in job-research, but also in changing one’s attitude towards life.
The passage that I found on New York Times just reflects my observation. It was suggested in this article that people really need a network of casual friendships in their daily life. People tend to share their casual bad experience with close friends but not acquaintances because they trust close friends more, and talking about more formal things with acquaintances, such as courses, works, and careers. To this degree, acquaintances who do not know you very well may provide you with more objective advices, which can definitely bring a new perspective on solving problems and broaden one’s overall view of the whole thing. Besides, sometimes people would feel isolated when they come across several bad things and unfortunately none of their friends is available. Bumping into an acquaintance provide them with an opportunity to release their emotions, and comforts from acquaintances will give them a sense of connection.
Consequently, having a stable network of casual friendship is really a necessary concerns for people, and if you want to receive greetings from your acquaintance, why not greet them first? Maybe your greeting will change his/her entire day!
nice!