Relationships

     The first week of my junior year had began not unlike my two previous years at Middle Tennessee Sate University. MTSU is a very diverse university, and it is not uncommon to see variety of different people everyday. There are students with disabilities, students of every ethnicity and race, students that look like characters out of a cartoon, models, athletes, and just regular people like myself.
     Parking at MTSU is a real annoyance. So a lot of students choose to park away from campus and then catch the bus to campus. I'm quite lazy and I do not enjoy walking in the heat so I never even attempt to park on campus.
     All in all, everything seemed to be the same so far at MTSU as it always had been. However, I feel like I was supposed to pay closer attention to my surroundings on this particular day, for some reason that was not apparent to me.
     I caught the MTSU Raider Express bus after my 9:40 class so I could make my way to my car in the parking lot across from Greek Row. The bus made it's usual stop outside the BAS building, even though the building is now surrounded by excessive amounts of construction. It was very hot and crowded on campus, as well as on the red route bus. I always try to sit toward the front of the bus in order to avoid fighting through the crowd at the rear end of the bus, because that can really get annoying. I noticed a perfectly normal looking girl who was boarding the bus, however, she had her dog with her. It took me only a few short seconds to make the conclusion that the girl was blind and this dog was much more to here than just a regular pet. The German Shepherd was her guide dog. I imagine that it would be impossible for the girl to navigate herself around campus without this animal. She spoke commands to the dog such as, "Scoot back," and, "sit." I watched the two of them interact as the bus continued on it's route. The dog sat very still as it's owner placed her hand on it's back, and then the dog laid it's head on the girl's lap. The pair appeared to be extremely close and comfortable with one another. I cannot imagine the closeness of the relationship between these two, but from what I can guess, they both depend very much on each other.
     In the few moments that I had watched this interaction,  I found myself having to take a second to appreciate relationships in general. The relationship between this girl and her guide dog, my relationship with my friends and family members, and all relationships can be made to seem so irrelevant. The interactions we all have with other people are the very thing that makes us who we are. Humans have the need to be loved and have relationships with people, as well as pets.