Armando, you drive for Uber?

Yes, yes, I do, and believe it or not, there are times when I love it more than my 9-5 job. Transparently, that is less of an indictment on my main job than it is an absolute adoration for the experiences I have been able to cultivate through my time driving people through Uber. Personally, some of my rides in Uber as a passenger have been fascinating, as I am sure you all as readers have as well. This week for Ideation, I am going to share some of my favorite themes that come from driving people around the City of Boston.

College Students

It should come as no shock that the overwhelming majority of my passengers are typically college students. Given that I work in higher education, that could not be any more ironic. You would think that maybe by driving Uber I am looking to engage with a different demographic of people, given that my career is all about working with college students. Or, maybe, you thought this would be one of my least favorite (let the record show I find joy in all my passenger experiences, really) group of passengers to have given the many stereotypes of college-aged adults.?

Both those things could not be any further from the truth! Most of my interactions with college students in my career naturally have a professional tone. At the end of the day, I work at the institution they attended, so it should! In Uber, I get to talk to college students who do not know me from a hole in a wall and talk about their studies, career, interests, and experiences in a way that puts a light in their eyes. I cherish these moments deeply. College students engage with adults in colleges and universities who wield some level of positional power within the institution, whether they are faculty, staff, or administrators. This is the reality of the work we do as higher education professionals, and developing authentic relationships is how we overcome those natural tensions. The kindest of words traveling across a power dynamic like that will always have a changed tune compared to a stranger saying those same words.

The smile from students as I drop them off, the gratitude for letting them speak of their good or bad experiences, and the joy reinvigorated into their career through the short 15-minute car ride are priceless moments I will hold onto. The best part about it is knowing they are not giving me that because I work at the college they attended and they feel the need to manage a particular dynamic within the community. The authenticity of the interaction speaks for itself.

Holding conversation is a skill.

The ability to hold conversations with people from all walks of life across language barriers and have them leave feeling better than when they entered your car is a skill. I cannot stress enough that this is not me trying to say I am doing this to get better at talking to people; rather, it is a natural byproduct of having 30+ conversations a shift on the road. Having that many conversations a day with random strangers has you really hone your skills in holding conversation. You become especially attuned to your own voice when talking to others.?

?How often are you responding to others' experiences with your own experiences? When done unintentionally, this type of conversation can be a real bore and is honestly more self-serving than anything. Everything is not always about you, and when driving Uber, the experience is all about that person in your backseat!?

?How carefully do you craft your questions to leave them open-ended? Leading, double, sometimes triple barrel questions are jarring and overwhelming. This is just poor conversation etiquette! Practicing good conversation skills during Uber rides has been such a privilege and an experience I am incredibly thankful to be the wonderful recipient of.?

The best part of all this is that when you hold responsible, mature conversations, you learn so much about people, the world, and your community! For example, I have learned more about Boston’s community-specific nightlife driving people around for Uber than I would have ever expected. As someone who has never gone out to explore the nightlife of the city, learning about which locations are being frequented by different demographic communities of the city has been an amazing learning experience.?

Stories Galore

I heard so much over the years from people who work in transportation about the peculiar experiences you encounter from time to time driving people around. From a human-to-human perspective, I understand some parts of the psychology behind why the stories shared and time spent driving people around can be so deep. For five to thirty minutes, you are spending time in the car with a complete stranger who you may never meet again. This unique dynamic creates a space for radical honesty unlike anywhere else in the world. Cab drivers and airport bartenders have shared similar sentiments for years; strangers will divulge some of the hardest truths of their lives to you when you work in such transient service-based industries. It is so special to me when people share such deep vulnerabilities they themselves admit they do not often share with folks, sometimes not even their closest friends and families. There is not a second I take for granted how amazing and sacred these stories are, and many of them I hold near and dear to my heart.

?With that being said, see you all out on the road!