This week is a breath of fresh air for me at the
University of Texas at Tyler. The
Gay-Straight Alliance is passing out free stuff every day of the week! Why? A random act of kindness. No better excuse to brighten someone's day. Unless, of course, they have allergies. In cases such as those, then come get the: candies/pizza/inspirational quotes the rest of the week. Sorry to say you missed the
cupcakes Monday.
I have the privilege of being an officer of the club, and I got to head up flower day (Tuesday)! This morning, I took an early trip with the treasurer of our
Student Government Association to
Flowers by Louann, down by
the hospital. We picked up a beautiful assortment of multicolored carnations. My friend Liz from my
rhetoric class sat with me in
HPR and helped me pass them out. Patrick came by and grabbed a few to take to the
BUS. Bonnie (pictured left of me) came after her class a little after 11 and we met Brandy between the lakes!
The opportunity to get out and open up a dialogue about kindness was eye opening. Not everyone we spoke too was 100% open to us, but I'm amazed at the amount of loving support we receive from the faculty, staff, and our peers here. One man even gave us a five dollar donation that will go towards extra t-shirts for our club when we do volunteer work. I'm very thankful.
Loose Moments from my Day:
- "Is this really free?"
- "I imagine Hell to be this garden, full of flowers, and Satan is a legit gardener." -a young woman with terrible allergies to things that grow
- "Which one is the 'boy' color?"
- "Oh no, I couldn't accept a flower. It would ruin my manly reputation."
- me: "Would you like a free flower? It is a random act of kindness from the Gay-Straight Alliance at UT Tyler!"
them: "What's this for?"
me: "...kindness?"
*Most importantly, everyone deserves kindness. Even if they act like they don't. They probably need it more. A lesson that is too often brushed over.
****Also, pizza Thursday. B)
