I hate Mondays more than just about anything. I know no one really likes Mondays; they're the start of the work or school week, plus everyone is talking about just how much they hate Mondays. But today is Tuesday, and after a particularly nasty Monday, anything would have made my day.
Then, at around 8:30 am, someone was unbelievably kind to me.
My poetry class was workshopping in pairs, and I had given my partner some of my work and was reading over hers. When I got my work (which happens to be about my parents' divorce) back, there was a note next to one of my pieces not only praising the poem, but more importantly, commending me for sharing stories in my work about something so personal and being so brave.
I remember the first time explained the difference between not being mean and being kind. I was at a camp on a farm in 5th grade, and a counselor told us a story about a boy who had slipped, very embarrassingly, into a pile of manure. He said one camper passed him by, laughing with his friends, the second camper stopped, said, "Oh no! You fell. Sorry" but didn't stop to help, and finally the third camper, saying nothing, bent down to help the fallen camper, and helped him clean off.
I'm not particularly close with the girl who wrote me that note. I thanked her profusely for the note, but it didn't hit me until later in the day just how much she'd gone out of her way to do something really nice for me. We spend so much of our days, wrapped up in ourselves, justifying the focus because we're busy, which is usually true! Nonetheless, I'm a strong believer of paying it forward, so tomorrow, join me in focusing on someone else for a moment, trying your best to make their day just a little better.
Happy Tuesday, everyone xx
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