Smile, you will brighten my day

You have exactly five minutes until you have to be at work. As you look at your watch and scurry into the checkout line, you say to yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the store before work.” Out of nowhere, the lady standing in front of you turns around with a smile on her face and softly says, “You can get in front of me.” Suddenly you have a new found appreciation for the humanity in special people like her.

Why is it that it seems so rare for anyone to do things like this anymore? I know when somebody holds the door for me, especially if it is inconvenient for him or her, it makes me feel really good. I feel like our society isn’t as selfish as it seems. That little bit of hope makes all the difference in the world in knowing that there are good people out there.

People are getting so caught up in jobs, money, material objects, and themselves that the kindness in our culture seems to be evaporating. What happened to doing good deeds and having courtesy, and the feeling that arises from acts of kindness?

I know that when I try to be polite and do an act of kindness, I get this high that just makes me feel so happy. When you smile, endorphins are released, and endorphins make you feel good. The world needs more endorphins.

If we all put just a tiny bit of thought into doing little things for strangers, or for anybody, this world would be a better place. It is the simple things in life that make me smile; the little things people do for each other. Believe it or not, you can brighten someone’s day just by telling a stranger, “I like your purse,” or by simply smiling at them. Any act of kindness goes a long way, even witnessing an act of kindness can make you smile.

It takes just a little to make someone’s day. If everyone started doing this, people would be happier and we would get along better. So next time you see somebody who looks like they are having a bad day, smile at them, and they will probably smile back.

Almost Famous

Everybody’s ideal job is different; some want to be doctors, some want to be teachers, some want to be psychologists. My ideal job is a fun job. I don’t even know exactly what I want to do yet, but I think I want to either work for a television station or a show, or work for a magazine. I used to not want to be cooped up in an office all day, but now I don’t think I would mind it. But if I worked for a television company, I would probably be on my feet at all times.

I want to be able to work on my own if I want, or work with others too. I also want to be able to dress nice and have a job where there is no getting dirty involved.

Since I am not totally sure what my dream job is, it is hard to say what it signifies about my American dream. For one thing, it says that I am not willing to work and get dirty for a career; I want something clean and white-collar, if you will. My dream job also shows how everyone wants to be a little famous. I want to be on television or the one writing articles for that magazine. Although I don’t want to be celebrity-famous, I want to have some self of importance. I think that is healthy in a job.

Lastly, I want to be willing to go to work, like everyone preaches to me. That will make it fun, since so much of Americans’ time is spent working.

S-C-I-E-N-C-E, Science is the place to be

When I think of the characteristics of my best educational experience, I think of a spunky teacher who made fun games for just about every learning experience. In fourth grade, my teacher was fun, so she allowed us to have fun. I learned a lot from that class but also had tons of fun. Her thing was that school shouldn't only be boring and dry, but she thought there were fun ways of teaching. Among others sayings, she had this fun little quote she would always say in the beginning of class: S-C-I-E-N-C-E, Science is the place to be! Apparently it worked, becuase that was one of the better educational experiences and I have many vivid memories of the fourth grade and especially fourth grade science and my teacher. Fun teachers, lots of activities, organized classes, and a connection with the teacher all have contributed to a good educational experience in the past.

I can't pinpoint my worst educational experience, becuase I have had so many of them. One consisted of a teacher in which all he did was lecture. People would sleep and he didn't care. He just lectured and we had tests. This was not effective for me and other students as well, becuase there seemed to be no motivation. In addition to this educational experience, some more characteristic of a bad experience would be mean teachers and boring classes. It's hard to learn when the class is so dull and tiring.