My life became so much better when I made the conscious decision to get to know my neighbors. Until recently, I (a young artist, a 'free spirit', a detractor of routine lawn-maintenance) thought that I wouldn't be able to connect to the upstanding, lawn-maintaining citizens of my new neighborhood. I was right--but only because I hadn't even tried! When I realized this, I decided to make a conscious effort to reach out and try to get to know the people around me. Turns out that you don't have to be the same to connect to each other, you just have to have an open heart and open mind.