Exit Comfort Zone

Last Friday, I exited my comfort zone and attended a Mac 'N Cheese Mingler. These minglers are a casual cocktail party of about 40 people (mixed genders, career backgrounds, ethnicities, etc) - but the kicker is, no one knows anyone else!

While I enjoy meeting new people and expanding my network of connections and friends, I'm not going to lie, it's a bit intimidating to meet 40 new people in one evening without having the "security blanket" of good friends by your side. While the first couple of minutes were a bit awkward, I quickly forgot that my new friends were complete strangers and easily fell into conversation and laughs with my fellow minglers.

Our host, Saya, did a great job of casually introducing ice breakers that facilitated the "get to know you" atmosphere. These ice breakers ranged from "20 Questions" (aka what famous person is on my back?) to "Find your Match" (alas, I did not find the Hammerstein to my Rodgers, so I paired up with Danielle, and HR manager for the Cubs) to "Who has the most interesting answer to this random question?" (most interesting answer to the question "what do you like to do alone for fun?" was from a guy named Adam who said he enjoyed going to Millennium Park alone with a bottle of wine and sitting down next to someone new - the room erupted in laughter!)

I had a great time and made a few "connections" - one with an Australian engineer turned organic farmer, Delia (we may go rock climbing in the future) and one with Anath, an Indian mechanical engineer that shares an appreciation for documentaries.

Thanks Saya for a great evening! And, thanks for helping me exit my comfort zone!