- mountain leaf candles
- the possibilities of an empty cardboard box
- when someone sets a good example
This being my first post about little things that make me happy, it may be a little rough along the edges. I believe today is as good of day as any to talk about the ability any single person has to make an impact on someone. Most people aren't aware of the little things that occur on a daily basis that say more about you than the words that come out of your mouth.
As it goes "You may talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" If I may be so bold as to say it is much easier to fake something by talking about it or saying so (lying). On the other hand taking the initiative and being the first is no small feat. Especially at the high school age; some kids are still clinging to their friends, some kids are dying for approval, some kids want to be different with every morsel of their being, then there are those who MAKE the difference. Those are the kids that do the little things, maybe they say hi or give a friendly smile. Maybe it's the girl who gets up from sitting with her friends so that someone else doesn't have to eat alone. Has our society really come to this being the bold thing to do? Personally in my high school career this appears to be the path less traveled, isn't that a shame. As I have come to realize being part of a group isn't anything, no one cares who your friends are, what clothes you wear, or what you did last night. If they do care, they don't matter. Which is one thing that took me quite some time to figure out. Not to say that you can be arrogant and look down upon everyone, but to be more positive and worry free. As my mom use to say "don't sweat the small stuff".
Apparently i'm not the only one that has noticed. Mayo Clinic also posted about similar observations. "Your own thoughts have perhaps the biggest impact on self-esteem — and these thoughts are within your control. If you tend to focus on your weaknesses or flaws, you can learn to reframe negative thoughts and focus instead on your positive qualities". Although it says your own thoughts, earlier in the article, there are mentions that how your peers treat you, perceive you, and how they act in your present indeed shapes your thoughts. Thus implying through the transitive property that if how people treat you and act towards you affects your thoughts, and your thought affect your self esteem, other people can definitely have an impact on your life.
Now that I have explained myself i'm going to give a positive and negative example of how people have impacted me during high school. Around fall of freshman year I had a homework assignment to read and was dragging myself to the upper IMC, when the stairs finally leveled off, the first thing I saw was a table of who I thought were my friends. Turns out I was wrong. I dropped my bag by an empty table a few feet away from the dreaded girl table, full of giggling and whispering. I sat alone holding my head high, denying my hope of an invite to their table. You know that feeling when you can literally feel people looking at you, where you can hear the cackling but you just KNOW that it's about you. Yeah, that's the one, which was the exact state of my emotion. As I have learned you can't base how you act on how other people treat you (golden rule smolden fule). Sometimes you are forced to be the bigger person, also known as growing up. So I left he library with my head held as high as a freshman girl can hold it. My junior year (this year) I have come to be friends with some of the coolest people. Looking back they are people that I never would have expected to even speak to. How I met them, you may as, was by reaching out and introducing myself. Sometimes starting completely random conversations, or telling a complete stranger how much I love their tights. Now when I walk through the halls I can hold my head high as ever knowing that i'm doing what I do best. More often than not I pass a familiar face and share a smile. Trust me no matter how bad your day is it always helps to know someone cares.
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