Little Things With Big Meanings

Little Things With Big Meanings

I believe the little things in life are the most meaningful. A simple smile can change a person’s whole day, while that day can affect the rest of that person’s life. A better day, a brighter smile, or the beginning of a friendship can be the result of a little act of kindness; a little thing with a big meaning.

Every day after lunch I had a routine; I would walk into the locker room, take my sweet time to change into my workout clothes, and then went pretend like I was working out in weights class. I never had any alters in my little routine; no extra hellos or even a simple smile to any of my fellow students. Maybe it was because I was the big guy on campus, a senior that could do and say as I please.

One particular day I was in a bad mood and my routine was interrupted. I was tying my shoes when I heard a “Hi.”

“Hi?” I responded back feeling a combination of shock and confusion.

“I’m Valeria can you take a picture with me?” I would never be rude, but I wasn’t as friendly as I could have been. I thought for a moment, and contemplated declining and coming up with an excuse like I was in a hurry, but for some odd reason I didn’t. I agreed. I took a picture with Valeria on her phone.

She was a cute, little Hispanic girl that went to P.E. with her special needs class while I went to weights. I had never noticed her before, because I never had taken the time to. From the moment she had approached me, I noticed how happy she was. How she couldn’t stop smiling, and she got overly excited that I agreed to take a simple picture with her. Seeing her be so entirely content with her life, while not have been dealt the best hand of cards was kind of fulfilling. Especially considering I assisted in the making of that big, cheesy smile she wore standing in front of me.

Valeria smiled at me one last time that day, more, gave me a hug, a genuine hug that had meaning behind it, and walked into P.E. leaving me still kind of shocked at how unusual that whole situation was, but a good unusual; like fate. It was the one thing I needed to take a new outlook on life and possibly inspire me to just simply be kinder. That could be looking to deep and over analyzing, but the point is, Valeria made me think; about something besides myself.

The next day I saw her in the morning on the way to my first hour. She ran up to, gave me a hug, and showed me the picture we took on her phone. It was her background now. She asked me my name, which I had never even thought to tell her yesterday, and introduced me to one of her friends from her class. Then we waved goodbye. I was left thinking once again about what an odd situation it was, but I had a good feeling inside. The feeling you get when you just did something meaningful for someone else, but I didn’t really think I did anything too significant. So I continued on with my day until weights.

In the locker room, Valeria sat with me and talked my leg off until it was time for us to part and go our separate ways. She was so enthused about life. Every little thing that happened to her that day made her unusually happy. It was kind of uplifting. She made me want to appreciate life and all the little things in it as much as she did. From then on I was her new friend. I saw her every morning and afternoon. We talked about everything from my work to the pictures she colored that day, and of course we took pictures.

One day at work, I work at a tanning salon; a young woman came in to tan. As she was walking out she asked me my name. I told her and she looked at me with a sincere smile and said.” Thank you for being so kind to Valeria. It means a lot more to her than you may think.” and she walked out. I didn’t know how she knew who I was but she did, and those simple words brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t realize a taking a picture could mean so much to one person. Obviously, it was more than just the picture, but that’s how our friendship began.

To this day, every time I run into Valeria we take a new picture on her phone; and to this day taking that picture means just as much to me as it does to her. I think a picture symbolizes friendship through Valeria’s eyes. The picture means something special to her. She definitely looked deeper into the value of a picture then I ever have. Once I took the time to look at how she thought and how I affected her so much. I began to appreciate the little things in life and realize how much they can affect someone else. I realized how karma is not always a bad thing. Often times it can be a great depending on what you dish out in life. I got the gratitude of knowing I could brighten someone’s day, create a genuine friendship without much more than a simple hello and a picture. It’s that easy to affect someone’s life.