After a sleepless night of procrastinated packing and a frantic morning of mother-induced stress, I finally made it in line to board a long and well-anticipated flight to Paris. As I waited to board, I began chatting with a kind, old Chinese woman who told me, "there's a saying in my country: 'it is better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books.' Travel 10,000 miles and you'll learn 10,000 things."

At some point, the airline came over the intercom and announced a delay due to San Francisco fog (surprise surprise). The sweet, old woman and I sauntered over to some chairs together and spiraled into a long conversation about life, travel, purpose and success. Her husband sat beside us quietly with a book – partially eavesdropping and occasionally providing a rare word or two of insight and agreement. Though we chatted for a solid hour or two, the interaction felt fleeting.

Our conversation abruptly came to a halt when the airline announced they were finally ready to board. The result of the announcement was nothing short of a stampede.

In the midst of the chaos, I was unexpectedly grabbed by the arm and pulled to the front of the line by the little, old woman who semi-aggressively positioned me between her and her husband. Not knowing how to react, I awkwardly glanced back at the grumpy queue of impatient travelers I had unintentionally cut in front of and thought to myself, am I really third-wheeling a retired couple right now?
"Are you sure?" I asked guiltily.
"What? You're my daughter," she said with a wink.

Several hours later, as I was sprinting through SFO trying not to miss my connecting flight, it hit me: I never caught the name of my figurative, little Chinese mama.

Whoever and wherever you are, it is to you I dedicate the 10,000 things I learn in my next 10,000 miles.

Lesson #1: Learn people's names.