The one where random women restored my faith in humanity.

During my divorce, many women (and people in general, to be fair) failed me. Long story short, Tyler “collected” most of the friends. I was grieving. And for the most part, I was alone. There were so many weekends where I would go Friday afternoon to Monday morning without talking to another human being.

For a while, it bummed me out in a major way, but then I shifted my perspective. I decided to use it as an opportunity to carefully decide who I wanted in my life and in what capacity. I write about that here. In addition to these three women, I want to thank Sarah Price. You allowed me to show up exactly how I was – messy.

If the last two years have taught me anything, it’s this: The smaller your social circle, the less lonely you feel. That might not be true for everyone, but it is for me.

So, women often get a bad rep for being dramatic or catty or vindictive or jealous. And despite the preface of this blog, I am here to share the opposite.

While “friends” of mine failed me, other women – women who I don’t even know – stepped up in big ways. With absolutely no agenda.

Last night, I went to a concert alone. Brad offered to come, but I politely declined. He does not like the artist (Kip Moore), and I knew I would not be able to fully enjoy the experience if I was worried about whether or not he was hating his life. The concert was general admission – standing room only. I was in the fourth row and somehow perfectly located to see around all the tall people, straight to the stage.

I wanted to get a drink, but I was too afraid I wouldn’t be able to navigate back to my spot. The girl beside me started walking to the bar, and I followed her. Once she ordered her drink, I said, “Hi. I am here alone, and I have a bit of social anxiety. Can I walk back to our spots with you?”

She replied, “Absolutely! I will wait for you. Social anxiety is the worst.” I ordered my drink, and we made our way back to her friends. She said, “Hey guys, this is Lauren. She’s with us now!”

And just like that, I wasn’t at the concert alone anymore. We shared a drink, took selfies, talked about her divorce, her love for the beach, and the fact that she has seen Kenny Chesney in concert 25 times.

Earlier this year, Brad and I were in an argument, but I knew staying cooped up in the house on a beautiful Saturday would not be good for my mental health, so I headed to Huber’s Orchard and Winery alone. My mom was nervous about me (which is why I didn’t share with her that I was going to the concert solo last night).

While there, I asked two girls who were taking selfies to take a photo of me to send to my mom. It came up that I was alone, and they invited me to go to a wine tasting with them. It took everything in me to not immediately decline their offer. But after much hesitation, I accepted the invitation. We spent the next hour together, made inside jokes, and exchanged numbers. They even refused to let me pay for my own tasting. Weeks later, after I assumed they had forgotten I existed, they texted me to check up on me. I was blown away by their kindness.

I don’t know what the point of this blog post is other than to share my optimism. People can and will fail you. And that sucks. But other people, often when you are at least expecting it, will restore your faith. And that’s quite beautiful.