Saying Hello to Strangers #3 – Ella

In high school, I was very heavily involved in music – I played the violin in orchestra until 10th grade, I was in my high school’s concert choir and chamber choir, and I performed in three school musicals. I especially loved choir, and I desperately wanted to continue this passion in college. So, I took voice lessons over the summer and excitedly auditioned for the Penn State choirs during the first week of school. Alas, I made it into University Choir and Oriana Singers (the all-female choir), but chose to just join UChoir.

I was super excited to be joining a choir in college because I loved to sing, especially in harmony with others. However, I was a bit intimidated on the first day of rehearsal when I did not know a single person in the room. I met a couple of other girls in the soprano section but it was not until the second or third week that I met Ella. I remember in class one day, Dr. Nichols, the director, told us that he wanted choir to become a community for all of us, and he encouraged us to say hi to somebody we did not know on our way out of class. As we all filtered out of the Nittany Lion Inn that afternoon, a girl with long, dark curly hair held the door for me with a smile. I thanked her and said, “I’m Anna by the way,” to which she responded, “I’m Ella! Nice to meet you!” Our destinations were both in the same direction, so we decided to walk together.

After that, I walked home every Tuesday and Thursday with Ella. On Tuesdays we would catch each other up on the events of the past weekend, and on Thursdays we would talk about our weeks and everything else under the sun. What struck me the most about Ella was her natural and genuine kindness. No matter what kind of day or week she was having, she would always greet me with a huge smile. She listened intently, asked me about things in my life, and when talking about others, always seemed to see the best in everyone and assume the positive rather than the negative of every situation. She appreciated the little things, and would comment on how beautiful the weather was, or how much she loved a song we sang in rehearsal, or how much she appreciated Dr. Nichols’s kindness. One day she mentioned that she was going to a bible study after rehearsal and that she goes to a church downtown with a couple of her friends every Sunday. She invited me to go to church with them, and although I was a little unsure, as I hadn’t gone to church since I had been home in the summer with my family, I decided to go with her. I enjoyed it, though, and went back with her for the next couple of weeks, even bringing along one of my friends who now goes every week.

Unfortunately, Ella couldn’t fit University Choir into her schedule this semester, so I do not see her much anymore, but we still text to catch up every so often, and hopefully I will see her again soon. Ella is one of the kindest and most positive people I have ever met, and I am blessed to have a friend like her. Who knew that I would become so close to a random girl who held the door open for me one day in September? Saying hello to Ella had a great effect on my life, as her presence every Tuesday and Thursday always brightened my day, and I have met a few other great people through her. Simply introducing yourself to someone who shares a common activity with you can make a large community, like choir, another club, a class, etc. seem a lot smaller and not as intimidating.