We're much more like everyone around us than we think. Or are we?

Preface: So this week has been a little odd to say the least. Abby, Eloise and I keep running into faces from a lifetime ago past. Sometimes getting away with pretending we didn't see the person, other times being forced into uncomfortable small talk and nauseating physical contact.

So it's midnight and I'm on BART on my way home from St. Paddy's day celebration with the girls, I’m deliriously tired, dangerously hungry, and stone cold sober. The car I'm in is quite until two white girls with blonde hair in their 30's come barreling in from the next car evidently the complete opposite of stone cold sober. They're loudly remarking about how this car smells like weed when one girl notices the bicycle leaned against the seat across from her and says "Damn, that's a nice bike. That's like the bike from Friday". The owner of the bike, a once sleeping Mexican man raises his head as if to ask "What"? She asks "Have you ever seen the movie Friday? That's like the bike in Friday. Okay besides the fact that you're Mexican have you ever seen the movie Friday"? Now I'm hoping I just didn't hear the part when he said "I'm Mexican" because otherwise I apologize on behalf of all white girls everywhere because we don't all lack couth. Before I know it the second set of staggeringly drunk white girls dragging a red-faced boy tromp into the car; only these two are significantly younger, significantly louder, and are wearing significantly less clothing with significantly more showing.

The immediately migrate towards the established drunk white chicks and the new duo promptly sits on the floor in front of the seated girls while the boy sits three seats away alone and closes his eyes. The girls bond over how much they’ve all had to drink tonight, and one of the younger girls begins talking and doesn’t stop for the next twenty minutes straight. This girl's voice and manner of speaking were so nerve grating- okay so take any over-the-top, stereotypical impression of a valley girl that you’ve heard, exaggerate it by a million times, and then double it. She’s going on and on and on and on when I start listening in…“Oh my god I just ran into my ex-boyfriend in that car can you believe it?! That is so random! I mean how random is that! This has been a really strange night. Week really”. One of the other girls clarifies “So the guy you came in here with isn’t your boyfriend”? “No, he's like my best friend we’ve been best friends for like five years I mean we dated for like three weeks five years ago but now we’re totally best friends”. Then she leans in and whispers something into her listener’s ear. I tune her out, go back to listening to Lemonjelly on my ipod and then I tune in again. “I mean, you really have to know yourself and love yourself before you can expect someone else to really love you. I mean, I know it’s easier said than does but it’s just a fact”. I begin to let go of my judgments. Okay. So she’s got a juvenile manner of speaking, and yes she’s drinking straight Absolute from a 7-Up bottle on public transportation, but I can identify with having a “strange week”. And she’s self-aware. She’s learned a valuable lesson of life and relationships, and she’s come to this realization a heck of a lot younger than most women I know. One of the seated girls points to and asks about the ring on her finger. “Oh my boyfriend gave it to me. I know it totally looks like a wedding band but he makes me wear it. He wants boys to think I’m married because I can’t be faithful. I’ve never been able to be happy with just one man. There’s been no one man who could satisfy me and I don’t just mean like sex but I need a lot of attention you know one of those girls who’s Daddy was never around blah blah blah I totally get it and everything but it doesn’t help just knowing you know? So I have to pretty much lie and tell my boyfriend that I’m staying in and then I sneak out go party but I haven’t been out without him in like year, in May it will be a year, so this is a special night Wooooo-Hooooo”! The other girl lays it down. She slurs to her, “Okay, so I don’t want to get all preachy on you, but lose this (points to the ring) lose the boyfriend, and just allow yourself to have the kind of fun you want to have. I mean, you can go shopping, and lust after all the shoes in the sore, and try on a bunch of different beautiful shoes, but sometimes It’s nice just to window shop, you don’t gotta take ‘em all home”! The younger girl giggles, “Oh my GOD I am so glad I ran into you you’re like my guardian angel”. Then it was my stop and I got off.