Woman's response to an unusual note from neighbors leads to an unexpected connection
It's the irony of our times that meeting new people and making friends has become more difficult in times of social media, which was supposed to make it easier for people to connect with like-minded individuals. The whole idea of approaching unknown people and extending a hand of friendship can be unnerving for many as everyone may not be good at socializing. But a woman named Chloe Casteel (@thecasualchloe on TikTok) was lucky enough to find a bunch of friendly neighbors when she moved into a new apartment building and posted a slideshow on her TikTok sharing four images that summarized what the initial days of her interaction with them were like.
Casteel received a post-it note from a neighbor who invited her to a party and the message on the note was welcoming enough to make her say yes. The 24-year-old Casteel had moved to Joplin, Missouri in fall and had only seen her neighbors from afar for a while. But the thaw came in December when she and her boyfriend Travis found a post-it note on their door which was left by a neighbor. The note mentioned an apology for all the excessive noise that would be coming from a party they were hosting.
Casteel decided to use this opportunity to get familiar with her new neighbors. She wrote another note back to them and inquired what kind of party are they throwing. She got a reply two days later on yet another post-it note that included an invitation for her to join them. The neighbor, who signed his name as Kyle, mentioned that it was going to be a glorified get-together of around 8 to 13 people and that alcohol won't be served at the party, since everyone was aged between 19 and 25. She posted these notes as part of a video that went viral with more than 2 million views and people in the comment section shared their thoughts.
@mexicanvanilla wrote, "It's either going to be the most awkward time or you're going to meet your best friends. Never know unless you go." @burnettabeeee noted, "He’s quoting her not mocking her. Comrades in quotes pass the vibe check for me given the tone of the letter and signing their actual name." @stacismith0 added, "Am I the only one who thought it was at least respectable to let his neighbors know they might be loud? Wish my neighbors were this nice." Casteel had a chat with Newsweek where she mentioned that she and Travis eventually ended up attending the party.
"I was nervous about sending a response, simply because they were strangers," Casteel told the outlet. "I felt a bit awkward about communicating through post-it notes and I was more worried that they wouldn't respond or find us weird. I think what made me want to respond was that there was something very fun and childlike about it. It was like kids passing notes in class. Travis was down to go immediately, without hesitation. But I'm a bit more cautious in social situations where I don't know anyone. Plus, what would I do there? What would I say? Did they expect us to show up, or was it just a courtesy invite?"
"We ended up exchanging numbers and deciding that we would host a game night for all of us to hang out. We've stopped and chatted on the sidewalk when we're outside and it's really nice to see a friendly face and have those quick little chats. I want to grow the sense of community within my building, and responding to their post-it was just the start," Casteel added. "I feel like post-COVID human interaction with neighbors is still pretty sparse but I'd love to change that and get to know the people around me. I hope my video inspires other people to reach out to their neighbors and build connections."