As we lounged in the sun, sharing our emotional highs after meeting Evon and buying ice cream for nearly 70 children in the park, Shane asked the group a question: “If you could have a conversation with anyone in this park who would it be?”
The idea behind this question forces an individual to look at another person as more than just a compilation of physical matter. Each person in Dolores Park had their own story to tell filled with joy, hardship, and life lessons. It is more and more common to walk through a park or mall or city and simply view each individual person as another object; no different than a street lamp or park bench.
Not even a minute after the question was raised a young woman named Rosella walked up to our little slice of heaven and asked if we wanted to buy vegan rolls she had prepared herself. Having just devoured some super-sized burritos, no one in the group had much of an appetite. Shane asked her why she was selling the rolls and Rosella dove right into her story of how her and her friend were raising money for a trip to southeast Asia. They plan to raise money for the next 6 months and leave in January of 2016.
Shane literally emptied his wallet to give to Rosella for her trip. Nate immediately followed suit and handed over his wallet saying, “Take everything that is in there.” Rosella was completely astonished. She tried giving us a mountain of vegan rolls, but Nate told her to sell those to raise more money. We exchanged hugs and took some great pictures. Rosella left us saying, “I am so inspired because of this!”
To Kelsey and Jonathan… You have traveled the world many times over in search of adventure and inspiration. There are so many people who wish they could do what you have done, but cannot or won’t because of different limitations. Today you brought two ladies from San Francisco closer to realizing their dream of travel. Cheers to you!
If you could have a conversation with anyone around you who would it be? Go do it. #ProjectWildness
