Why Didn't I Know?

I'm always astounded by the amount of people in the world.
Six Billion. That's a large number.
I am 0.0000000167% of the world's population.

There are so many people I don't know! It makes me sad. Who am I missing out from meeting? What stories will I never be told? Whose smile will I never see?

And yet, how often do I retreat from social situations? Countless times, I allow myself to sink into the background. What am I hiding? I think I'm a pretty cool person, really... What am I scared of?

Today, I read some blog posts of a kid in my ward who is leaving the country this week. His posts reveal him to be a pretty awesome person. The exact kind of person I'd get along with so well. Why didn't I know?

And so, today, I pledge to remember this. I promise to remember how many people out there I don't know, and so want to meet. To become a person worth knowing, a person who has stories in her old age.
A person who knows.