Today I was again reminded of how one little thing can lead to something wonderful. On two occasions today – one was while making breakfast and the other was while doing my makeup after I had worked out and showered at the gym – I was surprised by the kindness of strangers. Now these two activities are something I’ve grown accustomed to doing by myself and usually I do not have any interaction between people as I do them. However, as I was putting milk on my cereal this morning a guy bounced into the kitchen to make his breakfast and greeted me with a big “Hello mate!” Still groggy from being asleep nearly ten minutes before, I mustered up a rather husky sounding “hey”. I smiled and thought it was nice he acknowledged my existence and thought that would be the end of it. Nope. He started asking questions about what I was up to today and, after he picked up on my accent, he wanted to know all about my home. I became livelier with each answer and we ended up talking for twenty minutes. By now you should all know I usually hate going into that kitchen, but because of how nice this guy was, I secretly hope someone will be in the kitchen the next time I go in. I’ve had plenty of times where people have been in the kitchen and not even responded to me when I say hi, but this positive experience out weighs all the negative ones. And thanks to this morning’s interaction, I started off my day so much happier.
My second surprise interaction today was with a woman who was getting ready at the same counter that I was, and she simply asked me if I was having a good day. It wasn’t one of those typical conversation fillers or questions used to break an awkward moment like “how are you?” with the stereotypical answer “good, you?” Think about the last time you answered that question – “how are you?” – without simply saying “good”. I’m making it a goal of mine to attempt to give more of a genuine answer, because today it led to a five-minute conversation. And even if the person asking doesn’t want a detailed answer, they’ll get it anyway. Be the person that stands out. Today, the two people who stood out to me have no knowledge of how they affected me. But isn’t that cool? Wouldn’t you like to be the reason behind someone’s smile?
A few other positives that have happened in the past couple days:
- Yesterday, I literally sprinted my fastest 200m to catch the bus, and was matching speed with it as it pulled away from the curb, but right before I gave up the driver happened to look over to see me frantically waving my arms. I looked like an idiot to everyone on the sidewalk as well as on the bus, but hey I got on. Booyah.
- Another plus from yesterday is I made it through a game of ultimate Frisbee without hurting myself.
- Today, it only took two rounds in the dryer to get my clothes dry, instead of last week when two rounds didn’t even get them the least bit dry.
- I’m treating it as a positive, even though I wish I hadn’t finished it so quickly, but I finished my new favorite book, The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom. You all should read it. Oh, and you’re welcome in advance.
- I also found some sea salt popcorn, something which is my crack back home, and I just treated myself to eating the whole bag. If you haven't tried sea salt popcorn, please do. You're missing out on life until you do so.
Oh also, incase you were wondering what my humble abode for the semester looks like, the picture attached to this post is it. I know at first glance it might look like a jail cell, but I promise it's better than that - it has carpet.
My second surprise interaction today was with a woman who was getting ready at the same counter that I was, and she simply asked me if I was having a good day. It wasn’t one of those typical conversation fillers or questions used to break an awkward moment like “how are you?” with the stereotypical answer “good, you?” Think about the last time you answered that question – “how are you?” – without simply saying “good”. I’m making it a goal of mine to attempt to give more of a genuine answer, because today it led to a five-minute conversation. And even if the person asking doesn’t want a detailed answer, they’ll get it anyway. Be the person that stands out. Today, the two people who stood out to me have no knowledge of how they affected me. But isn’t that cool? Wouldn’t you like to be the reason behind someone’s smile?
A few other positives that have happened in the past couple days:
- Yesterday, I literally sprinted my fastest 200m to catch the bus, and was matching speed with it as it pulled away from the curb, but right before I gave up the driver happened to look over to see me frantically waving my arms. I looked like an idiot to everyone on the sidewalk as well as on the bus, but hey I got on. Booyah.
- Another plus from yesterday is I made it through a game of ultimate Frisbee without hurting myself.
- Today, it only took two rounds in the dryer to get my clothes dry, instead of last week when two rounds didn’t even get them the least bit dry.
- I’m treating it as a positive, even though I wish I hadn’t finished it so quickly, but I finished my new favorite book, The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom. You all should read it. Oh, and you’re welcome in advance.
- I also found some sea salt popcorn, something which is my crack back home, and I just treated myself to eating the whole bag. If you haven't tried sea salt popcorn, please do. You're missing out on life until you do so.
Oh also, incase you were wondering what my humble abode for the semester looks like, the picture attached to this post is it. I know at first glance it might look like a jail cell, but I promise it's better than that - it has carpet.
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