The small things

August 11^th, 2011

            Today I received a very nice surprise, as I was walking back to my house for lunch, one of the staff members drove up and had a bunch of mail for all of us volunteers. I received three pieces total and what a great surprise that was! Being as busy as we are here it is very easy to put feelings of homesickness, etc. on the backburner (also a little out of necessity) but getting these letters and care packages from home was really heartwarming and really special to me! So to those of you who sent me stuff, thank you very much you have just made my day, my week, and most likely my month haha. It is kind of odd how a little piece of paper with some ink on it can mean so much. I would not say that I have been real emotionally down while I have been here, in fact I would say that I am the opposite pretty much emotionally up but getting these letters just boosted me up that much more. It also was really nice to receive some American candy, those they have candy here and has its pros and cons it just is not really American candy.

            As I was saying earlier though it is amazing how such a little gesture can make such a huge difference in the life of someone else, just stop a take a moment to think about what would happen if more people took the time each day to say hello, tell someone how they feel, or any number of small gestures. How much better off would we be as a human race, I think we would be a lot better off and we would not be dealing with nearly as many problems as we are today. For this single reason, I am trying to go out of my way more often to do those little things. It is so easy to do, but yet for some reason it is an act that we seem to always forget; which to me is ironic because the act that is so easy to forget is most of the time unforgettable to the person who has received it. I encourage everyone who is reading this to take some time out of their day to do a little bit extra, pay it forward if you will, I have a sneaking suspicion that you will not only feel rewarded but you are helping to make the world a better place and that is no small feat!