Walking past strangers happens every day.
Usually, it's accompanied by darting eyes and a quick glance at a phone.
It's a daily source of awkward inconvenience.
Liz Ball, junior in psychology, sees these encounters as opportunities instead of annoyances.
"Every stranger has a story, but I don't have the time to talk to all of them," Ball said.
It is this desire to discover the stories and common experiences of people that led Ball to organize and plan International Story Day.
"International Story Day is about making strangers less strange," Ball said. "I think it will show how people work and how people are connected."
Ball said she was inspired to create International Story Day by multiple websites that place an emphasis on the shared human experience through storytelling.
"I don't really remember how I found out about it," Ball said, but said the idea of collecting true stories resonated with her.
The event is an offshoot of The Stranger Project, a New York based blog with a focus on collecting true stories.
International Story Day has the goal of promoting a sense of international community, but the event itself will be simple.
Ball and several volunteers will set up in the Student Center and be equipped with plenty of pens, paper and clipboards for anything that would like to write down an anonymous, true story.
The stories will then be uploaded to a Tumblr created specifically for the event.
Although she acknowledged there is some risk in providing a venue for people to anonymously share their thoughts, Ball thinks people will generally stay true to the spirit of the event.
"If it can be done in Central Park, then I don't think we'll have a problem," Ball said.
Ball also said anything blatantly vulgar or obviously fake would simply not be posted.
"I wanted to be able to let everyone that wanted to contribute stories be able to do it," Ball said. "I'm trying to be over prepared."
Even with thorough preparation, Ball said International Story Day likely would not have happened without sponsorship from the Women's Leadership Institute and the Auburn Student Writing Council.
"I sent at least 50 e-mails to organizations just hoping one would reply," Ball said.
Barbara Baker, executive director of the Women's Leadership Institute, said the theme of common human connection made the event something the Women's Leadership Institute was glad to sponsor.
"This office connects Auburn to the nation," Baker said. "We consider ourselves a grand network."
Baker also said her familiarity with Ball helped persuade the Women's Leadership Institute to sponsor the event as well.
"I was confident she wouldn't engage in anything that wasn't very well thought through," Baker said.
The sponsorship also allows the event to be an official part of Auburn's Welcome Week. Ball hopes this will allow her to collect even more stories.
Ball said if Saturday's 10 a.m.-8 p.m. event goes well, story collection could be a repeat event.
"I plan on randomly setting up on the concourse throughout the year," Ball said. "Overall, I think the gain will be hugely positive."
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