The 6 degree rule: “It's a small town”

This happens to many of us, where we meet someone and after enough conversation one recognizes that they know another person you know very well. This connecting you by a third party without knowing it, this is known as the 6 degree rule, or as I like to call it “It's a small town” affect.

I was reading this article where the title implied that we never meet everyone by accident. It explains like in my previous statement, where we meet someone new and the percentage of them knowing someone you know is actually quite high. Which to me is just fascinating, but coming from a small town, it never usually surprises me.

Now, sometimes with this rule you meet a new best friend, a new boss/co-worker, hell even the love of your life. I wanna share 2 stories in particular that exercise this cosmic rule that just baffles many of us. To me it gives indication that I'm on the right path, simply because of who I interact with, and I am quite particular on who I interact with going forward from learning their names and occupation.

So, with the 6 degree rule; I had a best friend I had known since 2005, Tyco, we were inseparable for the longest time, becoming best friends. Until he moved away to go to school, to which after he returned to our small town, I started my job working overseas.

As I was working over seas, I was in South Sudan in a small county called Wau. My team and I were requested last minute to do work for our competitor company that had a broken down aircraft, therefore we were the next candidates to continue their shifts until the aircraft was fix. So, we packed our bags and headed from the capital Juba to Wau.

The 2nd night we were there, I had gotten close talking a lot with one of the aircraft mechanics Ryan. One thing you always do while overseas is tell stories of your loved ones back home. So there we are having beers and sharing stories. Now, I always called my best friend Tyco, so I kept saying that nickname. Finally Ryan was curious about the name in general “Tyco” so he asked what his actual name was, I then responded with Tyco's real full name. Ryan's mouth dropped and he repeated the name then describing his appearance. I then dropped my jaw as Tyco and Ryan were both taking the same courses at the same university and even had several classes together. Me finding it hilarious considering I was in a rural county in East Africa, having drinks with one of my best friend's classmates. I recall saying “Small World” for the rest of the night.

Like, just imagine that! It's crazy how our relationships with others can connect us to various other walks of life just by sharing a few stories of those you care for.

Now in terms of “never meeting someone by accident.” Another 6 degree story I want to share is a not as oddly coincidental in comparison to the Wau story, but it does show that meeting people really can connect us to others. This one details of how I met my husband.

After moving back to Canada, I know I needed an education under my belt. Several courses were at my fingertips, I had 2 programs to choose, business administration or marketing, I chose business marketing.

In my 2nd semester I got close with one of my girlfriends Karlie, that August she had a birthday party going on and asked me to join. At the party, I met another new friend, Zac. He was a photographer for the local burlesque scene here in Ottawa, he was awesome to talk with so we said we would hang out soon. Sure enough not that long after, he brings me to Burlesque Wednesdays at (which was then) The Bourbon Room.

I ordered a drink and stood in the back to watch the performers. There, that's when I saw Don Jovi (stage name) perform for the first time. The following week I had gone back to the show to watch it again, only this time Don Jovi was bar-tending. After the show I agreed to go with a group to Swizzles for Karaoke.

Once getting there I'm socializing, drinking, having a grand ol' time meeting the performers. I go outside to smoke out of my pipe, to which I see Don Jovi a bit further down having a smoke. He asks me for papers, to which I showed him I just had a pipe, we smokes and started talking. We were outside for an hour just talking, then finally going back in and shortly after calling it a night and going home.

I'm now engaged to Jovan, aka Don Jovi, however he shortly retired from Burlesque after we made our relationship official and are currently planning our wedding.

So, to recap. Meeting Ryan was not by accident, however an amazing small world kind of concept. There was no major decision I had to make in order for this to happen and meet one of my old best friend's classmates.

However meeting my soon to be husband, was an event of choices I made to create the path I'm on now. Imagine, if I decided to take business administration, I would have not met Karlie, would not have went to her birthday party and met Zac, and I never would have gone to Burlesque Wednesdays if I didn't know Zac, therefore never meeting Jovan (Don Jovi), my now fiance.

It's insane how sometimes connections means so much more than just a kind exchange of “hellos” and “how are yous.” We are all connected in someway to which truly fascinates me, because you never know the next stranger you will encounter may not be a stranger at all. The chances aren't all in that favor, but that doesn't mean 0 either.

If you take a step back and evaluate your social circle, or co-workers or anyone you know more than the name of, perhaps some of you met in weird connections from others like my 2 particular 6 degree stories.

I'm not religions, but I do recall a quote from Sunday school as a child, saying; “Strangers are friends we have not met yet.” I agree with that.