What are the chances?
Three true stories and one controversial conclusion
First story:
In the fall of 2008, I moved to Woodstock, Georgia. Where I began my sophomore year at a new school called (you guessed it) Woodstock High School.
The beginning of a new school year always terrified me for two reasons — my teachers would butcher the pronunciation of my name (Armen, ArMAN, Arm & Hammer, etc.) and then there was lunch time…
But it wasn’t the strange smells that most frightened me, rather, it was surveying the sea of students wondering, “Where am I gonna sit?”
After being handed my delicious n’ nutritious meal consisting of “chicken” tenders, mashed “potatoes” and chocolate “pudding”, I plopped down at the end of a prison-style table wishing I had a friend.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes caught my gaze as I looked up with pudding dripping from my chin. I was sitting across from my former baseball teammate who I hadn’t seen since the Shaw Park All Star game back in ‘03.
“Zac?”
“Arman?!”
Second story:
In the summer of 2018, I attended the largest EDM festival in Europe — Tomorrowland, with my best friend Zac (from above). It was a three day extravaganza with over 180,000 people in attendance from every country on Earth.
On day two, I was jamming out at the main stage. It was filled to the brim with heads bobbing and bodies grooving.
And of course, I was wearing my Dennis Schroeder Atlanta Hawks jersey (gotta represent).
I figured nobody would recognize the team, much less be able to point out Atlanta on a map.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes caught my gaze as I looked up with Belgian beer dripping from my chin. I was standing next to a girl wearing the exact same jersey as me. I glanced over with the biggest grin of my life.
“Hawks fan?”
“Hawks fan?!”
Story three:
In the winter of 2019, I quit my job and bought a one way ticket to Thailand.
After a few weeks of solo-traveling, I found myself in the beautiful city of Chiang Mai, tucked away in the mountains of northern Thailand.
I was staying in a (nicer than you’d think) $10 a night hostel filled with fellow vagabonds from Europe, Asia, South America, and even a few Canadians, eh.
I loved being the only American. I would introduce myself and tell people I was from a state they’d likely never heard of — Georgia.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes caught my gaze as I looked up with chai dripping from my chin. This guy had overheard me and not only knew where Georgia was, but was from there, and had also graduated from the University of Georgia.
“Go dawgs?”
“Go dawgs?!”
Some people like to believe that there are no coincidences. They say, “What are the chances of that happening?” as if to mean it was a near impossible occurrence.
Life can feel more incredible if we think everything happens for a reason. Like there’s an invisible pair of hands above the stage pulling universal strings.
But, I like to believe everything is a coincidence. Life feels more incredible to me if everything happens by chance. No invisible hands. Just beautifully random.
What are the chances of winning the lottery? 1 in 14 million (according to the omniscient Google). Ah, but that’s if we’re being self-centered and wondering, “What are the chances of ME winning?” But someone always wins it eventually.
So what if we look past our own little bubble and ask, “What are the chances that this rare occurrence happens to someone, at some point, over the long course of human history?” Probably 100%.
I think that’s a nice reminder when the chances seem nearly impossible. Incredibly rare occurrences happen to someone, at some point, all the time.
PS — For more on this topic, check out the incredible book “Fooled by Randomness” by Nassim Taleb.
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How do I pronounce it? Armyarn? Armzhmarman? Onions?
This is a great way to start your morning! Thanks for sharing these stories, Arman!