The Little Things

Sometimes, I think we're taught from a young age to expect the worst in the people. From the early warnings of not taking candy from strangers, to the self doubt that we feel when we are alone and on our own, to famous quotes saying "Always expect the worst and you will never be disappointed", its easy to think that the world is a harsh and lonely place. But sometimes, people can really surprise you. 

I was feeling kind of down today. Blame it on the hormones or the four and a half hour long CPR training session this afternoon, but I was so ready to just go home. When I got to my door, I saw an envelope wedged beneath it from one of my neighbors. Now, keep in mind, even though I've been in this complex for about two months already, I haven't really had the chance to meet anyone on my floor. So, of course the first thing that popped into my mind was -- oh crap, my neighbor's probably writing to tell me to stop playing the friggin' guitar and singing so late at night (which I admit, am guilty of on numerous occasions). But it wasn't that at all. A couple of days ago, I had seen an older woman walking down the hall with a bunch of heavy bags and I helped her to her door since we were going the same way anyways. She told me about how she had come to help her daughter who had gotten sick and was at the hospital. I didn't think much of it. Well, her daughter was the one who had written me the note. It was really simple thank you for helping her mom when she was sick, but it made my day knowing that something I did (something that I thought was so insignificant) was actually appreciated. 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, the little acts of kindness that you do in your everyday life doesn't go unnoticed. And people rarely react the way you expect them to. Even though few people may actually verbalize their appreciation for your actions, it's still there. I'm not saying you should go out way to be nice, or just be nice to get thanked. Instead, it's what you normally do that makes the biggest impact even if you think it doesn't. I think a better quote to describe what I'm trying to explain would be "Hope for the best, expect the worst, but always be prepared to be surprised."