Be Yourself and Smile!

I'm finally back at school, and I've been noticing a few things that I had forgotten, or hadn't noticed before, about college. For one thing, it seriously is like a mini-town full of people from the ages of 18 to  the mid-twenties for the most part. People in these age groups provide maintenance help, serve the food, check in people at the front desk, assist the professors...I mean, geez, what do the full time staff even do?? It's so strange to go from living in a town where nearly everyone is twenty years older than you, to a place where EVERYONE is your age, or close.

The one thing I realized the most when coming back to college though, was how important it is to put yourself out there. I am somewhere between an introvert and an extrovert. When I socialize too much for too long, I need to take a day for myself to recoup. But when I'm not with other people for a long time, I feel lonely-the urge to talk to or hang out with someone overtakes me. And I think it's because I have grown to realize how absolutely essential it is for me to be in contact and have connections with other people, even if I'm not in the mood to socialize sometimes. I've seen far too many people who have grown up with no one around, or at least, no one that matters. They lose their humanity in a sense: become numb to everything and only notice the bad things about life. There are far too many people on this planet to connect with for someone to grow old bitter and alone.

And there is so much to enjoy about a person once you finally venture out to talk to them. Some people are funny, some are smart, some are just plain nice. There are a lot of jerks out there too, not saying there aren't, but I almost feel like even the jerks have something hidden inside that makes them a good person. Maybe when they were younger, nobody wanted to bother talking to them, so they grew up old and cranky and made bad choices. I am willing to bet that the majority of bad people are just lonely souls trapped beneath a nasty demeanor.

So here is my advice, if you care enough to take it: even if you are feeling lazy, or tired, or not in the mood, make an effort to talk to someone new today. If it's only for a passing greeting, that is ay-ok! Or at least smile at someone as they pass you on the street or the sidewalk: you never know when you might be improving someone's day. Don't be afraid to be yourself around people you don't know: half of them will end up liking you, and the other half will just forget you. It's not hurting anybody, but it's helping you.

We're all forced to share the same planet, we don't have much of a choice. So why not try making the lives of those around you as good as they can be for as long as they will last?