A Jill Story, the pages turn again.

Well, did you really think I could stay away?

Whenever I take a blogging break I always come back refreshed and with a new sense of inspiration. I have found a new reason to write and it makes me so happy.

While on my hiatus this week I took a break from building stories of my own to tell and really paid attention to the stories everyone else was telling. One of my friends found romance, another got into a car accident (she's okay, but her little car is not), another one just told a really funny story of mistaken car identity. There were so many good ones that I briefly considered making my blog all about other people. But that wouldn't really fit under the title of A Jill Story, would it? I'd have to rebrand the whole blog and that would be quite the project.

I know you came here looking for A Jill Story, otherwise you would have typed in asomeoneelsesnamestory.blogspot.com. I'm not one to disappoint so here goes.

I learned that someone found my blog by searching "how long until egg explodes in microwave". (See my Brave and Crazy post). When I tried the search myself I found this other guy's blog detailing a similar experience. I left a "me too" kind of comment on his post and then looked around the blog a little more to see just who I was saying "me too" to. I get interested in reading blogs of people I don't know. I guess I just like to see how they write and find out if anyone else goes through the same life pains (which of course they do, and then suddenly the world feels a little cozier). I got really hooked by this guy's story. He seemed like a really good and sincere guy that anyone would be lucky to know, but he also recently came close to death just for trying to help someone else. I was completely amazed and moved to tears by his story. It was so human and honest and humble. I have to quote my favourite part

The next thing I really remember, besides being completely shocked that he kicked me in the head, was a group of people helping me up and walking me over to an ambulance. I was a bit spaced out at this point, having never have been in a fight before (not that this was much of a fight really, since I didn’t even see that guy coming). I remember feeling bad that I couldn’t take the names and numbers of the people who helped me to thank them later.

Throughout the blog there are a couple of pictures of the guy--post-op, graduation, with his friends, etc. I couldn't help but notice that even though this guy seems to have it all and a great attitude about life, he looked a little sad. I had to contact him. Random, weird, crazy, but that's what I do. I just wanted to tell him, "buddy, I don't know what it is that you're still looking for, but you deserve it, and I'm sure you're going to find it soon." And I think that's basically what I said, or attempted to say when I e-mailed him around 11:30 on Wednesday night.

He wrote me back and thanked me for the e-mail. He said it made his day. "You made my day" is my absolute favourite phrase. It is the most rewarding feeling when you know that you've made a difference in someone's life even with a small gesture. I strive everyday to make someone else's day a little brighter. On Wednesday I did it. To this guy I want to say, thank you, it was my pleasure.

The Way I See It #107
There is no end to a story -- it goes on indefinitely, into eternity. Every time a story is read, it's alive and it's different because the reader is different.

--Alice Hoffman