Looking Up

A few years ago my Dad and I went on a walk around a neighborhood river walk. My Dad is a man of few words, yet he always smiled and greeted everyone we would pass while walking. He asked me if I wanted to do an experiment, and of course I agreed. At the time science was my favorite class and I was excited that I might have the opportunity to impress my seemingly always disappointment father. He told me that every time someone would walk past me I should smile and say hi. He preached the opposite  of stranger danger. His hypothesis was that if I did not say hi first the stranger would not say anything and avoid eye contact. He was spot on. Every time i would greet someone they would return my salutations with a warm smile and hello. On the chance that I said nothing but looked at them, the would avoid eye contact. I am in college now, and I see almost the same people everyday. I live on a smaller campus, but there are still thousands of kids that attend. I still play this game, but instead of verbally greeting someone I just give them a smile and a wave. I am not sure if I look super friendly or like I am about to murder them, but I normally get a good response. Since I no longer use a verbal greeting, only the people who are looking up notice my actions. A majority of people my age use their phone as a scapegoat. I find myself doing it to. If I don't want to communicate with someone I find myself checking my phone and scrolling through instagram, but I find my day way more satisfying with human contact. Look up.