This I Believe

I believe in small favors.

My life is currently moving at an incredible pace, with things and people losing and gaining importance almost everyday. That is why I am compelled to remind those people as often as possible how I feel about them, and how they make me feel. Using mixed media (any where from a note and drawing to some homemade cooking) I attempt to make other people feel good, because it makes me feel good too.

About a year ago a close friend of mine lost a close friend of his in a car accident. This friend of mine is by no means a “touchy” person, and the foundation of our friendship was based largely on our similar capacity for silliness, and not on our ability to display emotion. With that said, shortly after the funeral, I bumped into my friend at school. When I saw the look on his face, the way everything from his shoulders to his feet seemed to drag ten feet behind him, and his eyes showed more despair, loss, and incredulity then I’ve ever seen upon one person face, I was instantly crushed. There was so much feeling inside of him it hurt me, and I wanted to do and say so many things to make that feeling go away. I searched for the right words, but nothing seemed fitting. I tried to think of what I would want someone to say if this were happening to me, and my body answered me before my mind could, because I realized that I was already hugging him. This embrace held so much power and meaning, and spoke the words that I never could have strung together. It changed our friendship forever, and changed both of us as well.

In this way, a small favor can be something as easy and overlooked as a hug, or a smile and wave. Then again, we cannot forget the value of a present; something so materialistic that has the capability to mean so much. When I buy things for people, it’s not because they need it, it’s because for some reason I feel like they should have it. That’s what a present is, really. It’s proof that someone was thinking of you, rather than themselves.

Ultimately, I believe in believing in other people. I believe in loving the people you want to love, and letting them know everyday why you love them. I believe in little reminders, folded notes with drawings, cookies and brownies, long hugs, and perpetual smiles that really mean “I like you, and I like when were together.” I believe in being together, living together, losing together, gaining together, and appreciating every moment of it.