The End for Now, Post #12

Over these weeks of writing I feel like I have learned a lot. I’ve learned about people, how to write, and most importantly I have learned more about myself. Honestly, going into this I didn’t think I was going to be learning anything new. I figured I would just write about what I saw and maybe get a little bit of experience in the process. However, as I wrote more I started to realize some big differences.

For a long time I have tried to see the best of people, but writing about it really opened my eyes. I was surprised at how hard it was to find topics. This isn’t to say that people aren’t kind, but more like people tend to stay to themselves. It is quite difficult to write about the good things people do when 90% of people have their heads down looking at their phones or just moving from A to B. Though, another thing I have noticed about people is the subtle signs they give off. It may be hard to find the people to write about, but I can always count on people giving little hints as to who will give me something to write about. It may be a little smile or a way they walk, but you can always pick out the people in the crowd who will be kind.

When I say that I have learned how to write I don’t mean that I am actually a better writer. What I mean by this statement is that I now know what it takes for me to write. When I started this class I honestly hated writing, I hated my writing, I hated writing classes, and most of all I hated writing online. This has changed drastically. I am still not too fond of my writing, but I now see the difference between hating my writing and seeing improvements I can make. I also have a better relationship with writing online. I honestly needed to be able to make these changes and this really helped me to do so.

Through all my writing I have learned a lot about myself. Not just about how I write or my own inner monologs, but about how I act. I knew that I preferred to stay home in most cases, but I never realized how much until I had an assignment that required me to leave the house. Most the time, it would come to the weekend and I would realize that I had no material for the blog. I would have to go out on the weekends to make sure I had some interactions to write about. It is good for me to realize this. Hopefully in the future I can work on that a bit more.

Surprisingly, I am quite glad I had to do these blogs. They really took me outside my comfort zone and got me to realize some great things. Hopefully, you all have got something out of this, and maybe you see people in a more positive light. That would be amazing, but at least for now. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely life.

Diamonds in the Media, Post #10

I have been doing lots of searching online lately and I have found that lots of people let down their guard on these platforms. Some people get really mean or gross, but not everyone. The sorts of stories that it would normally take people a while to tell you are right there, ready to be read. It has given me a lot of insight to how other people think and how similar it is to my own thinking. I usually fall into the same bad habit of believing that I am the only one who feels some way, or that people would criticize my beliefs if they ever heard them. However, the more I read of other people’s lives and how they really feel the more commonalities I find.

The first thing I read that really hit me was a story about a guy and his friends. The guy’s friend’s dad said “you put too much faith in your friends. They won’t always be there for you.” As the story progressed I heard of many things the friends went through together. They saw each others lives be made with relationships, lifetime partners, weddings, homes, and kids. They also were there for when life went down by heartache, drugs, alcohol, moving, and … death. It was his friend’s father’s funeral. The guy and his friends were the pallbearers and were left with one last sentiment from the father “I was wrong. Your friends are special. They’ll be a part of our family until the end.” This story hit me hard because less than a year ago I had a major death in my family and I had two of my friends there with me to help me through. Even though I have never met this person or his friends and yet I can relate so much to his story reminded me of how human we all are, and that is what connects us.

Another writing that connected me to the human side of the internet was a story of mirrors. The writer in this wrote of his own flaws and how he would project his problems on to others. He speaks of his own chamber of mirrors were all the things he hates about himself he finds constantly staring right back at him through others. It is over drinking, and binge drinking that he struggles with. What surprised me was that he never tried to blame his problem on a situation or on someone else, he took full responsibility for his actions. I was honestly taken aback by this because I rarely ever see people take full responsibility for anything. I have also personally found it hard to take full responsibility for things even though it has been a goal of mine for a while. It was just really nice to see someone face down an issue in their life, get knocked down, and completely unfazed face it once again while fully acknowledging what has happened. I hope to keep those lessons with me for a long time.

I seem to find myself forgetting sometimes that we all have horrible things that shape who we are. To have a way to see the human side of people again has reminded me of just how complex each of our stories are. People may bash on social media, and I do to a lot of the time, but this past week I have seen a new side of it. I have seen a side that cuts past the surface and nullifies the other posts that in the end are meaningless.

I cannot encourage everyone enough to go searching for these real connections, they are out there you just have to find it. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Small Acts, Post #9

Hey everyone! As, I think, everyone could have guessed at some point I would talk about random acts of kindness. Well that time is now! We all understand how random acts of kindness are good and make others feel good as well as yourself, but the question is more of how often do we do them? We should all be striving to do good deeds for others of course. However, how often do we actually seek out people to help? That help doesn’t always have to be monetary. Sometimes the biggest help comes from just lifting someone’s spirits.

This past week I hadn’t been having the greatest time. Life and other situations just seemed to keep piling up, but when my friends took me out to eat and go shopping that changed. We started off by having a nice lunch where we joked and chatted about life. Then it was off to our first store. There we met a really nice lady who was kind enough to give some fashion advice and really get my spirits up. My friends also had me trying on different outfits and joking around when they didn’t work at all. We also hit another store where me and one of the two friends got to give the third friend different outfits to try on. It was great being able to help him find new outfits, and give him ridiculous things to try on. I can’t thank them enough for always knowing what to do to make me feel better.

These are the kinds of things that we don’t normally associate with random acts of kindness. To tell you the truth it wasn’t until they did this for me that I though of it like that. These simple acts we nothing more to me than what anyone would do, but it is so much more than that when you are the one on the receiving end. Its truly amazing how such small seemingly insignificant acts can change an entire day around. This isn’t hard. It may be difficult at first to spot the people who aren’t having a good day, but the more we pay attention to people the faster and easier it will be. We can all also try to be more aware of when we do make someone’s day better. Give yourself some credit for taking action and that will help remind you to do it again.

Well I hope you all get to go and make someone’s day soon. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Stories, Post #8

This week in positive people watching I was able to have a great time with some amazing people. I don’t often get to see a few of my friends from church, given we all go to college and they can’t always come home, so it was special to be able to see them again.

We were able to catch up on a lot while we talked but mainly we heard about a friend that Mandy had met at college. She met a guy named Jacob. He is a compulsive liar Which made for great stories. Jacob has a bit of a limp, so when Mandy’s family met him he told them he had got into a farm accident as a child. They were so sorry for him. All he had to say was “Nah, I’m just kidding”. We heard many other stories about him, but my personal favorite was his advice on how to get a date.

 Near where their dorms are there is a place to get smoothies and one is named the very berry single smoothie. Jacob suggested that a good way to get a date would be to buy one of those smoothies and then select a target. Upon approaching your target, you must through the smoothie to the floor and loudly proclaim “Not anymore!”. Then you can proceed to make out with them and that is his advice on how to start going out with someone.

We all had so many more stories that were amazing to be part of. I really think that sharing stories and experiences is the fastest way to connect and learn. Even though I have never met Jacob I feel like I know him. Also the stories connected us friends. We were able to talk about common issues and experiences. We were able to learn from each other. If stories continued for just one reason I would hope it would be for sharing knowledge.

Just over the summer I met a lady at a wedding. She was in her 60s and we got talking on life experiences. She told me of many life lessons she had learned and the conclusions she had come to. By the end of our conversation I found out that she had many of the same beliefs that I did, but hers were more fleshed out and firm. It was a great experience to talk to someone who felt the same as me but with many more years of experience on her.

Well with that I hope you all take the time to share and hear some new stories. I sincerely wish you all a lovely day!

Include Any and All, Post #5

Inclusiveness has always been something I try to embrace fully, and I love to see others doing the same. I have met so many amazing people do to random conversations and inviting people in to group activities. Even though sometimes it is hard to get myself to take the first step, it always seems worth it. This week I have two stories for you, one of a time me and my friends invited someone to hang out with us and one of an encounter just last week where I was invited to join a club meeting.

Back in high school I had a pretty tight friend group. There was only a few of us, but we all had great times. During our Junior year me and one of my friends had a math class with one of the foreign exchange students. We introduced ourselves and found out that she was from Japan and her name was Kaori. I offered to walk with her to her next class because we were in the same class. When class ended I invited Kaori to sit with my group at lunch. From then on Kaori hung around the friend group and we all became really close to her. She came to parties, sat with us at lunch, and at the end we all got notes from her saying how grateful she was to us for helping her through and being her friends. We were sad to see her go at the end of the year, but we had a great time while she was here.

This second story is about a club meeting I got invited to last week. I had stayed after classes and was waiting for one of my regularly scheduled clubs only to find out it had been canceled. Right before I was about to leave a lady walked up to me, introduced herself, and told me that there was a French club meeting in an hour where they would have food. I told her I would think about going. After short contemplation I decided that it would be interesting to stay and see where this adventure would take me. After waiting an hour it came time to go to the meeting. Honestly, I started to second guess my decision. I had already walked past the room that I saw everyone meeting in when I decided to just take a leap of faith, go back, and walk in before I could change my mind again. I am so glad I got up that courage. Shortly after showing up we separated into groups and were playing games. I met a couple really great people while I was there and they all were very inviting. I had an amazing time, and as a side note the food was great.

Being inclusive and having the courage to include yourself in activities is an amazing experience that I hope we all continue to do or try harder to do more. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Express Yourself, Post #4

Over the years I have come to realize that people often times use themselves as a canvas. They show off what they support, how they feel, and parts of their personalities. What fascinates me the most is how many different ways people express themselves using their bodies. We buy certain clothes, jewelry, piercings, tattoos, hair accessories, and many more things. Different people buy different things to express themselves and show who they are, obviously. I think it is important to note this though because we sometimes fail to see how people are expressing themselves. A coat may look like any other coat but there is a reason behind them wearing that coat that speaks to them as an individual. For my post this week I would like to focus on piercings, tattoos, and makeup.

Piercings really play into two categories with this. There is the usual earrings and then there are the other face and body piercings. Both have such a wide variety to them. You can get anything from studs, to dangly earrings that hang down to your shoulders, to some crazy awesome body piercings. There is no end to the varieties of colors, styles, and shapes. There was a guy that I met recently that dose piercings for a living. He is very meticulous about his work and it shows. Every piercing he had was perfect and symmetrical.

Around the same time that I met this guy I also met someone with some awesome tattoos. This guy had a tattoo from a video game that I know and immediately we had a mutual hobby. I think the biggest thing about tattoos is that when someone uses a common symbol and someone else recognizes it, they become closer. You are no longer talking to a complete stranger. This is another human with the same interest as you, instead of just a passerby.

Makeup is really high on the self-expression list. So many people use makeup and it is such a big part of culture. I have met people that have never worn makeup ever and I have met people that never leave the house without it. Allowing people to express themselves so easily and change their appearance without anything being permanent is amazing. This gives people the chance to try new characters or show a side of themselves they don’t normally show.

Expressing ourselves is important and quite fun. Hopefully you all try to express yourselves and encourage others to do the same. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

The Joy of a Child, Post #3

This week in positive people watching experiences I noticed an adorable trend, kids. I have seen many families and individuals out with young children lately. They have been out shopping, eating, or going to classes. The joy that kids bring to everyone around them is spectacular. I will recall three encounters that I noticed this week.

                The first instance of these lovely young ones bringing joy to others was while I was walking through the halls at Delta. Farther down the hall I saw a man and a kid about three years old. As they were walking the man would pick the child up in the air and place them back down. The child was so happy to be playing with the man and giggled up a storm. Not only the man but everyone around had a huge smile. Not to mention that the child’s hair was so big and cute that just that alone would make anyone smile.

                On Saturday I had gone to the mall with one of my friends. While we were their we repeatedly ran into the same group, two men and a young girl probably two years of age. The men were taking turns carrying her in their arms and holding her hand while she walked. Later on, when we ran into the same group, we saw that the men had got her one of those push cars that she could sit in while they shopped. The little cutie and her family were so endearing to see.

                Finally, today me and my same friend had gone out to get lunch and saw an adorable woman and girl sitting together. The kid was between six and seven years old. They were sitting at a high table with stools and drinking from those big coffee cups. Those big cups are comically large for most people, but especially for such a small girl. She would lift the cup to her lips and the cup would cover half of her face. The girl and the woman seemed to be having a really good time together. They left fairly soon after I had arrived, and the girl seemed very excited to go to their next location.

                These little events really made my week. Seeing so many happy people having good times with each other is really uplifting. Kids seem to have a very positive effect on those around them. I am not sure why. Maybe it’s because they are happy and don’t care who sees it. Maybe it’s because they haven’t seen much of the hard parts of life. I feel like seeing these little ones reminds us of when we felt the same as they do. Hopefully we can all try to focus on that little kid joy in our own lives. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Appreciate the Small Things, Post #2

I find that we often over look the little things people do. Things like holding doors, saying have a good day, and even a simple smile. Do you remember having people do these things for you? It gives everyone a good feeling. Something so simple that takes little to no effort. People do this more than you think.

            This may be just me, but if someone holds open the door for me my day improves significantly. I have seen so many people check over their shoulder before going out a door to see if they need to hold it for someone. Just in this last week there were multiple times people held the door for me. I specifically liked it when there are two doors, so I could return the favor. It’s so simple and that’s why I, and others, sometimes overlook it. We shouldn’t though. Holding doors may be simple but if we pay more attention then it can boost our days even more.

            This also applies to greetings. Walking into a business and being greeted with a genuine “hello” or “how are you” is the best. It raises spirits and gives you a connection to the individual. When I was going to high school I would always get gas at a specific gas station. It was on my way but there was another one right next to it. I would always choose this one though because of the lady who worked there. She was so sweet and always so happy to greet anyone who walked in. She had the biggest smile I have ever seen a worker have. I always left there feeling better than when I arrived.

            I personally believe that smiling can make you happier, even if you don’t mean it. The question is does it make others happier too? I honestly think it does. Seeing someone have a genuinely great time can make me so happy that I can’t help but smile. Maybe it is a group of people hanging out and laughing, or someone just having a fantastic day, both make me happy to see. Same goes for the little smiles people share while passing in the halls. You know the smile I am talking about. The smile you do when both of you have made eye contact and can’t just look away without feeling rude. It may be a forced smile but it still says something very important. You care. Now don’t get me wrong you don’t have to smile to everyone you pass. All I am saying is that these little smiles connect us to others and we get to share a moment with them that is a mutual experience. Sometimes that all your day needs for that little boost.

            This week I would like to challenge us all to take just one more second to appreciate these little things more deeply. Maybe even try to do these things more yourself. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Why I Started this Blog, Post #1

                You get back home from a day out. There were many people and lots of different interactions you had with those people: some good, some bad, and lots of neutral. You call up your best friend or talk to whoever is home. What do you tell them about your day? Often people fall into the habit of talking about that one guy in line that was being ridiculous, and the lady who doesn’t know how to “parent”, and that person that cut them off in traffic. Negative news always seems to be on our minds. That is why I decided to write about positive people watching.

                Positive people watching is all about watching for the good things people do instead of the bad. We all have bad days or for some reason can’t seem to handle a discussion correctly. I want to challenge my thinking and everyone else’s to start seeing the good things more and bring attention to how much negativity we spread. Our outlook on the world can change dramatically by making intentional choices to be better. I do not believe that people simply are who they are. We make ourselves. We can make ourselves into who we want to be and not who is easy to be. It is easy to fall back into old habits. It is easy to be negative. It is easy to quit. Focusing and changing one part of yourself at a time leads to the creation of a new you.

For me I will start with recreating my view of the world. I don’t want to always expect the worst of people, or have my mind filled by constant nagging negative thoughts that leave me with a feeling of isolation. There are so many people in this world, each with their own troubles and joys. To judge them with one look is like looking outside and assuming it’s always raining. People are beautifully complicated. That is what makes positive people watching so amazing. You are purposely watching for the full person and not only their gloomy clouds. People as a whole are good. I intentionally chose to believe this. Call me optimistic but I would rather be optimistic and be proven wrong then to be pessimistic and be proven right.

I hope you all will enjoy hearing positive people watching experiences for the upcoming weeks. You may even start to see it more in your own life. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.