What's your story?

I was out at a gay social meetup group not long ago, and I realized that every opening conversation was dominated by "What do you do?".  Everything I heard around me essentially  amounted to superficial chit-chat about what people "do" and what they "own".

I don't care what you do, where you went to school, or what you own.  I don't care what you drive, how much money you make, or about your education. I just want to know who you are.

What was your upbringing?  What challenges have you faced?  What hard lessons have you learned?  What have you achieved?  What are things along your path that have shaped you?  What is the most important life lesson you've learned so far?  What is your deepest fear?  What is your greatest dream for your life?

Who are you?  I want to know your story. What is it?

Everyone has one, and no two stories are the same.  Your story is part of what makes you unique.  Everyone that walks past you, or you drive by or that otherwise crosses your path has their own story, each waiting to be told. But you'll never hear it if you don't ask.  Will you ask?

It seems as though we prefer to understand and define people by what they "do" in the world.  For some reason, this is how we categorize and rank people's worth.

But think about that for a moment.  Does what you do matter more than who you are?  No, of course not.  What you do really is only a small part of who you are.

So who are you?  What's your story?

Why is it so difficult to interact with people on the level of who they are, rather than what they do?