People in Philadelphia

Someone told me that Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in America. There are a lot of people here and most of them are strangers. It is obviously different from my childhood home, of church camp because so many people are strangers. But it is also really different from Claremont because there most people were somehow connected to me through the colleges. Even a business major at CMC had something in common with me, from the get-go, even just the cafeteria food. To a certain extent, I could pretty much trust them. 
I am told I should not feel that way in Philadelphia. But I kind of do.
I figure that whenever you choose not to get to know someone, aren't you missing the possibility to meet someone who could change your life for the better. While i recognize that it goes both ways, he or she could change it for the worse, but let's be optimistic. 

So, there is a thin line that I have been walking: on one side is meeting people and on the other is maintaining my safety. And I may have stumbled on both sides of the line at times. I was told that I still need some parenting and more maturity, and this might be the kind of thing that, that person was talking about. But, I am getting better at balancing it. 

And I am enjoying the adventures and stories meeting new and  often very different people is affording me.  Still safe, still alive, still having fun.