When I first moved to Peru, I became obsessed with learning Spanish.

I eavesdropped constantly. I was dying to understand, dying to know: What are people saying?

About a month in, I was walking along the boardwalk in the tiny beach town where I lived. An older couple walked past me, hand in hand. The woman turned to the man and said:

“Viste la paloma?”

(“Did you see the pigeon?”)

At first: shock. Had I finally broken through? Had I…understood?

I turned to look. Sure enough, there in a little nook, sat a pigeon.

I floated home and basked in the buzzy glow of breakthrough. Yes, I saw the pigeon.

🐦‍⬛

Oh, the glow of understanding!

The fact that people were saying such ordinary things did nothing to deter my fascination. In fact, my thirst to understand only intensified.

The same is true outside of learning a language: with my clients, with any memoir I read. I want to understand, and often the most satisfying bits are the ordinary ones.

Because those are the things that connect us.

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We often think connection lies in big ideas or extraordinary stories. “My life isn’t interesting enough for anyone to want to read,” people say.

But I disagree. Connection shows up in overheard sentences, small observations, everyday language.

What we crave is often to find what we have in common.
What’s almost too normal to even talk about.

“We read to feel less alone,” wrote David Foster Wallace, and I would say that’s also why we strain to hear people’s conversations. Why we’re so deeply curious about each other. Why we’re so excited when we see the pigeon.

I’m Kimberly, writer, ghostwriter, & book coach. If you’re interested in writing about the (extra)ordinary parts of your life, you’re in the right place.

Check out the services I offer here, and/or click here to schedule a call.