I believe in courage and curiosity. In the world today it seems as though no one ever marvels at the beauty of people, taking for granted the people that pass through our lives and rarely wondering why, why anything happens. Why do we pass people every day and never acknowledge them, wonder who they are, or the lives they lead, just pass by not even curious what these people could mean to us. We as people seem so afraid to take what they could have so easily. I believe in courage to have the strength and bravery to take what is freely yours and curiosity to have an idea of why you want it.

This past summer, I attended a youth conference in San Diego called Steubenville. It was a moving experience without a doubt. There were over five-thousand catholics that had gathered from all over America to talk about their beliefs. It was also great way to meet new people, how could you not with so many around! During this time there was one person that stuck out to me and will in my mind forever. Several of the people at this conference I had picked out as attention hogs and obnoxious. It wasn't where they came from because everyone was from a different place. It wasn't their looks either, it was the fact that they had signs. "Free hugs", they flashed with sloppy handwriting written on whatever the wearer could find. These signs were definitely a trend, every other person seemed to be offering a meaningless embrace. I thought the practice was only to gain attention and the hope of a hug from an attractive other.

One day as my three friends and I were headed back to our dorm room we came across a boy who looked to be the same age as me. He too had one of the infamous signs and we decided to indulge on his offer. He had light blonde curls, but the rest of his details remain fuzzy as I had only glanced at him for a moment. He was not in a large group, or a group at all. He just stood on the sidewalk secluded. In front of me my three friends each decided to give him a hug and started to walk ahead after satisfying their request. When it came to my turn I couldn't help but get a feeling that I had to stand out, I had to be different or do something to make him remember me, I had to be special. But being too unsure of anything I could do I just gave him a quick hug and turned to leave. As I was walking away I heard him call out to me me, "You have a nice heart".

After this incident I saw him again, towards the end of that same day when it was getting late and the days talk had just ended, each group started to form. I followed some of the people to where our group was clustered. We stood there for a few minutes making sure that we had everyone and letting others pass. During this time I glanced at the people around me. Then I saw them. Piercing blue eyes that seemed to defy the darkness of the night. Then looking at the owner I realized that it was the "Free Hugs" boy. He was looking straight at me and I had no idea what to do, so I did nothing special and just whipped my head around trying to avoid his gaze.

When the day was the last for the youth conference I felt nearly desperate. I looked for this boy who seemed to sense something about me, perhaps something similar to what I had sensed about him. My eyes searched the endless sea of faces until I had to depart from California. I was saying that if I found him I would do something, anything to know one little detail about him. And as I came up empty handed I felt my heart sink. Why did this bother me? It wasn't as though I had even introduced myself or had any sort of conversation with this person, but I think that is what bothered me most. I wanted to know who this person was, what he liked to do, how big his family was , what he could mean to me.

I thought maybe if I had taken the time to introduce myself or start a conversation perhaps I would have found just what I was looking for. Maybe they could turn out to be one of my best friends or someone who just really understood me. I doubt I will ever forget when he called to me and it will always bother me why he had the urge to shout this not so common compliment. It was something I could have had so easily but I was too afraid to take it then and curious after the fact. The rest of my life I'll have to wonder who this stranger was and why I just took them for granted.