It was 11 in the afternoon, “the” time of the day as the teachers put it, and the hustle of the students began to buzz around school. I wiped my face with my neon pink handkerchief, cleaning off any trace of sweat and hopefully exhaustion that was etched across my face due to a torturous day in P.E. My friend and I grabbed a quick lunch and decided to walk around, which was different for us because we usually just sat around and talked, but today it was unusual and I liked where this was going. “You know how Mr. S is asking us to thank him at the end of the day?” she asked, I nodded enthusiastically in reply enjoying my cheese sandwich, “well I think it’s kind of dumb”, she continued. I didn’t know what to say to that, I mean it was just a word right? T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U, and that’s what I told her, “It’s not JUST a word, it’s like he’s doing us a huge favor teaching us”, she retorted back. Okay, this was getting scary, “Calm down, let’s try this, how about we go around school randomly thanking people?” Her reply, a dirty look, I pleaded her with my eyes, I really wanted to know where this would go, even though the idea being very lame. “Fine” she mumbled, gosh that was hard, now with the thanking. The first person we thanked looked at us disgusted; of course she was her being in 5th grade and us being 3rd graders it was inevitable for her to react that way. The second person, however, was more of an encouragement. I’d realized that people weren’t necessarily nice to janitors, and there should always be an exception to that right? And so our next “gratitude receiver” was a janitor (surprise). As the words left our mouths, the sides of her lips tugged and her face broke out into a smile that reached her eyes. It was nice to see people react that way; it was amazing how just one word could affect someone so much. We thanked a couple more people, each person smiling wider than the previous, and each smile seemingly brightening up the day a bit more. The frown that was on my friends face slowly turned upside down, small at first but eventually getting bigger turning into an actual smile. It felt like I could control ones feelings just by saying thank you, and that’s when the realization hit me and I stood there like an idiot with a lopsided grin stretched across my face. I could make someone happy just by smiling at them; I could make their day by thanking them for what they’ve done, unknowingly even. I believe in the word “thank you” and I feel just the same when I am spoken the word to, knowing somewhere I did help someone or crack a smile that was provided as aid even if the effect was little. Well, I guess it was a good thing we decided to walk rather than sit and chat. Later that day I found the janitor smiling to herself was it because of my friend and me? And the belief in me grew just that bit more.Similar to this was the Free Hugs Campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4
Picture 1: http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=42-21528451&tab=details&caller=search
