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Monday, April 23, 2012

Guest Post: Lisa Travers

I was thrilled to open my email the other day and find this guest post submission from Lisa Travers of the blog L!$@'s Life.  I have never met Lisa before, so it was exciting to have her feedback and hear her input about my project.  I love the story that she told, and am pleased to share it with all of you now:

Finding parking at university can be a daily struggle! You either have to pay to be in the carparks everyday, fight for a free close park or give up and park further away and walk in. When I am running late I often try to get a spot in the carpark and just pay. Sometimes I'll pay for the whole day, even if I know I'll be leaving early. When I do leave leave early I try to give my ticket to someone else so they don't have to pay. Just a simple gesture because I won't be needing it.

Well the other day, I REALLY needed a quick and close park because I was running quite late. Thankfully I saw a spot free, saw that the car next to it was leaving, so I let them back out and then parked. While trying to find enough money to pay for the time I needed I heard a tap on the window. Turning I saw a guy, the one who had just left, offering me his ticket that was until the end of the day. I was shocked and ever so grateful! I thanked him and then proceeded to get my things together and headed to meet for a group project. 

I literally couldn't stop smiling for the next half hour or so, I must have looked so funny, but it was nice to have someone give me their ticket when I needed it. The best bit is that I wouldn't have had enough cash to pay for the time I needed and would have needed to move my car between classes and been late to the second lot.

So be kind, help when you can, you never know when your simple act of kindness will really help someone else out.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Guest Post: Kylie Pond

You, my dear readers, are all SO lucky today!  You get both a community spotlight (see previous post) and a guest post all in one day!  As if that's not amazing enough, there is a guest poster tomorrow morning as well.  What a treat. :)
Without further ado, read on to hear from Kylie Pond of the blog Love, Always.  She gives some fantastic pointers on simple ways to spread kindness:

I've been struggling to find something to write about since Amy asked me to write a guest post.
I know it really shouldn't be that hard, but for some reason it is. However, a few things come to mind. 

1. I've been thinking a lot lately about kindness. Not just because of Amy's project, but it has helped. I wrote a post on my own blog [here] about kindness in the home. I wrote about how I'm trying to be less judgmental and to practice being kinder to my own family members. While I completely agree with Amy that kindness to strangers is very important....don't you think being kind to your flesh and blood is maybe even a little more important? How easy is it for us to get frustrated and short-tempered with those that we share close bonds with? I know no family is perfect, but I believe in striving to make homes a heaven on earth.

That being said, my husband is a great example to me. Amy already sang her husband's praises, but let me tell you about mine. My husband, TJ, makes me a PB&J sandwich every morning before I go to work, as my breakfast, because I just can't get out of bed early enough to eat breakfast before I go. He even does it on the days he has class the same time as I have work. And on the days he doesn't have class, he drives me to work so I don't have to rely on the shuttle to get there. Great guy, right? Not only does he do this, but he does the dishes every day. Even when I don't cook dinner, or when he's running low on clothing and underwear because I've been slacking on the laundry. These simple acts of kindness mean the world to me. His serving me reminds me every day that he loves me.

2. Just smile. I'm the type of person who wears my emotions plainly on my face. If I'm upset, you can tell just by looking at me. The problem is, it doesn't always translate properly. If I'm in deep thought, my brow furrows and I look upset, but I'm really not. So, sometimes I have to practice smiling. I think smiling is one of the simplest, most human ways to show kindness. Also, did you know that the mere act of smiling makes you happier? The smile muscles in your face trigger the endorphins (or something) and your brain thinks you're happy, even if you weren't previously. So just smile! It'll make you happier, and probably brighten someone else's day, too.

3. Say "Hi" or "How are you?" to the people you interact with. I work in a building that has a conglomeration of offices as well as food service. Every day, I venture outside of my office to refill my water. And most days, I pass this same food service employee who cheerfully says, "You have a good day now ma'am!" and it always makes me smile. There are others like this in the place where I work, and it just feels good to know people are trying to make others days brighter. Try it when you're at work, school, or the grocery store. You might be surprised how good it makes them feel, and how it makes you feel.

That's all I have! Thanks for reading.

Community Spotlight: Areina Contreras

I am very pleased to introduce all of you to Areina Contreras, my classmate from my Honors writing course for which I made this blog.  She's 18 years old, and is a full-time student at NAU.  Her major is public relations, with a minor in sociology (which coincidentally is my minor too).  She's extremely sweet, and volunteered to fill out this spotlight questionnaire to help me out with my project; my absolute FAVORITE part of this is when she says, "people are so enclosed that they forget about others."  This is exactly why I have these spotlights on my blog!  I want to remind everyone that there are others around them living their own lives, and I hope by introducing members of our Flagstaff community, these spotlights will encourage us to stop being so enmeshed in our own lives that we forget about the people around us.  Read on to get to know Areina, another Flagstaff resident:


1. What does a typical weekday look like for you?
Have my normal routines of class and work, but sometimes stressful and other weeks really nice.

2. What would you say is the one thing in your life right now that takes up the most of your time?
Right now it would have to be work and school.

3. What worries do you have in your life?
I worry about everything…What will happen next year or what my grades will be or what am I going to do over summer break? My main concerns are about school and my family.

4. What is important to you?
FAMILY is very important, but I cannot forget about myself. I have to remember to look out for myself in school, work, and healthy lifestyles. My relationship with my long distance boyfriend is also on my top list and then it goes my relationships with my friends.

5. Do you think you live in a kind community?
Yes, I think Flagstaff is generally friendly place and I feel accepted and safe in this community.

6. What are some examples of kindness you have given or received recently?
New people I have met have been generous to pay for my dinner and even drive me around town. On campus people have held doors open and even returned my lost cell phone.

7. Tell us one confession of a time you could have been kinder--whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
There are times when I randomly talk to people who I think look interesting and as a result end up having lunch with a new person who eventually becomes a friend. [I'm pretty sure Areina misread the question, because this sounds extremely kind to me!  Or maybe she's just so nice that she doesn't have any unkind moments to confess to us. :)]

8. Can you think of a time when you relied on the kindness of strangers? 
There was one time when I was in elementary school when I rode the bus to my grandma’s house and ended up getting lost within her neighborhood. I was wondering the street crying and decided to ask for someone’s help, so I knocked on a random person’s door. This sweet older lady opened the door and asked me if I needed help and I told her where my grandma lived and she gave me a ride to my grandmas and made sure I got in the house safely. I will never forget that lady’s kindness because at that moment I felt so helpless.

9. Discuss a time you observed someone being inconsiderate to another.
Inconsideration happens to often to remember specifically at this moment.

10. Finally, tell us anything else you can think of that is important to know about you as a person.
Kindness is a part of my being, but at times I do not always look out for other people. I think at times people are so enclosed that they forget about others and it sucks when you are the person that gets left behind. Especially because now people tend to hide behind technology rather than interacting with actual people, so for me I try to remember others.

Many thanks to Areina for being willing to "stand in the spotlight" for a bit!

Friday, April 20, 2012

New word for the day: Beleaguered

The word "overwhelmed" has been a major part of my vocabulary lately.  Life itself is overwhelming, both in good and...less-than-good ways.  Because I like to shake things up a bit, and I love learning and using new words, I decided to try to find a good replacement for "overwhelmed."  This is what I came up with, compliments of the Encarta Dictionary (of North American English):

Beleaguered: be-lea-guer (transitive verb)
     1.  Annoy.  to make somebody feel harassed, hemmed in, or under severe pressure
     2.  Besiege.  to surround somebody or something with an army

 Beleaguered.  Learn it, use it, love it! 

I just wanted to say to all of you wonderful readers and kindness-doers...THANK YOU.  Even though I have felt rather beleagured by life as of late, you all are still making me so happy!  The people who have submitted guest posts, spotlight questionnaires, and comments to posts have demonstrated a huge kindness to me by participating and helping out with my project.  But more than anything else, I love receiving messages about acts of kindness people have witnessed or experienced via text, email, or Facebook, often ending with "I just had to let you know because it reminded me of your blog."  Not only do these stories make me smile because I love that there are kind people out there blessing the lives of others, but they also validate my purpose here as a writer.

"Think of an idea to change the world, and put it into action." -Eugene Simonet, teacher on the movie Pay it Forward


My writing professor assigned essentially the same project.  "Think of a way you can use writing to change the world."  Even if I haven't inspired my readers to go out and be someone's hero, I at least know that my blog is helping people (myself included) be more aware of the kind deeds that others are doing around them.  And increasing awareness is the best way to mobilize change.

Again, from the bottom of my heart: thank you, dear readers!  I am...overwhelmed...(beleaguered just didn't seem to fit the sentence) by all of your love and support.  Keep on spreading the kindness, and stay tuned for another guest post and another community spotlight coming up in the next couple of days. :)

Challenge for the Day:
Leave a surprise gift on someone's doorstep

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Guest Post: My Mom!

I promise I'm not blackmailing my family into helping me out.  They are just my biggest supporters, I guess!  And this is only TECHNINCALLY a guest post.  My mom just emailed me a link to this awesome news story clip with a single sentence attached to it...but I'm going to go for it and call it a guest post.  (Click the link to view the video since I can only upload vids from my computer or YouTube.)  Here is her sentence-long post:

Just a short clip that shows kindness is alive in the valley, too.


http://www.azcentral.com/video/1555957256001


"It is amazing, the power of kindness in our community."  --Mark Curtis, 12 News

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Guest Post: Leigh

 I am pleased to introduce all of you to my second guest poster, Leigh.  Some quick background info about Leigh to help put the following story into its proper perspective: she is a mom of three little boys, ages 3, 2, and almost 1.  She is also very pregnant, and lives in a place in Arizona where the weather is hot and the inside of a car is even HOTTER.  Read on to hear her story about relying on a stranger's rescue:

Today I learned that child locks are dangerous.
I was loading the kids in the car after a shopping trip at Target. Since my 3-year-old and 2-year-old JUST moved to the third row of the car (to make room for baby), I climbed in to help buckle them into their booster seats. Trying to be courteous in case the owner of the neighbor car left while I was strapping my kids into the car, I closed the door ALMOST all the way. It shut. I thought nothing of it. I buckled my youngest in. I buckled the other two in.  Gave them sippy cups and a few fruit snacks (which I bought because I was hungry... But I knew they would insist on sharing with me). And I tried to get out. It took a second to realize why I couldn't open the door. Child locks. I thought for a minute about my predicament. I couldn't open the door, obviously. The keys were in my hand, so I couldn't roll down a window to access the outside handle of the door. I am nearly 8 months pregnant, so I couldn't crawl over my youngest's carseat (which is in the middle seat of the second row), nor could I crawl over the passenger's seat. There is just no room for me to go over anything. I couldn't go out through the back for the same reason. Besides, there is no inside handle to the rear door. I am trapped in my car with my three babies.  Trying to remain calm, I waited for someone to pass by. It takes a while for someone to actually walk by. I started pounding on the windows while shouting "help". The woman glanced up. A conflicted look crossed her face. And she started veering to the other side of the row, occasionally looking at the car. She did not stop to help. The boys started crying when they saw me getting agitated. Another lady walks by, so I try again. "Help me! Please!" I pounded harder. The second person stole a quick look at my car and sped up. She did not stop to help. I was hysterical. I screamed. I pounded. The boys screamed. And cried. I think a third person walked by without stopping to help. But I was so frantic it just didn't register. A man appeared outside my car next to me. He must have come up behind from the front of the car. I managed to shout, "please open my door; I am trapped" between sobs. Without hesitation, he opened the door. I started bawling uncontrollably. He made sure everyone was safe and sound as I scrambled out of the car. I thanked him profusely, not knowing what else to say to this stranger who has just saved me and my babies from baking inside my car. I quickly climbed into the driver's seat and just cried for a few minutes. I was so grateful for the stranger who helped; I was so appalled by those who just walked past. 
I get it, though. If the situation were reversed, what would I do? 
As a pregnant woman with kids in tow, I would feel vulnerable. What if it were a trap?
But I don't think I could just do NOTHING. Especially after my experience.
I would call 911. Or at least let security know someone might be trapped.
There are still good people in the world, even if few and far between.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Community Spotlight: Nicki Jones

I am so excited for all of you to meet Nicki Jones, the first of my community spotlights!  She is a chatty lil lady, so grab a snack, sit back, and take a few minutes out of your day to get to know a member of our Flagstaff community.  Read on and take a peek into the life of someone who once was a complete stranger to you:



My name is Nicki Jones, I am 24 years old. I am a Latter-Day Saint of 6 years. I have been married to my best friend for three years. I have my AA in Performing and Cinematic Arts (Eastern Arizona College), a BS in Theatre Studies (NAU) and I am currently working on a Masters in Secondary Education Certification (NAU). I am from the north Phoenix area originally but I have moved around a lot to places like: Thatcher, AZ; Valencia, CA; Florence, Volterra and Guissano, Italy; Ketchikan, AK and Flagstaff, AZ. I love the colors yellow and red, but not together. I always have a craving for spicy Thai food (no, I am not pregnant) and chocolate, but not together. I also have an affection towards dancing and singing, but I can’t do either very well. My dream is to one day teach high school theatre and I have a strong desire to live in Hawaii and become absorbed into their culture someday too. Also, I am a little weird and sometimes eccentric, sorry, can’t help it.

What does a typical weekday look like for you?
Well, I work two part time jobs equaling a total of about 30 hours of work a week. I absolutely LOVE one of my jobs, and the other….well, let’s just say that it ends at the conclusion of the semester and I can’t wait. Ok, so, I work a lot. Oh, did I mention that I am a full time graduate student at NAU right now? Who’s idea was this?! As a result, I spend as little time doing school work as I possibly can because I am trying to juggle it with my home life (cleaning the house, spending time with the Hubbie, etc.) too. So a typical weekday looks like this: Get up at 6:30 in the morning, get ready to go to my first job together with my husband (he only has one), work for 4 hours at NAU, then come home, eat lunch, get ready for my next job. Most of the time when I have a day like this, it ends up being a 12 hour work day. Sometimes, I try to make time for myself by doing yoga….or the dishes. Whichever. By the time I get home late at night, my husband has been watching TV all night waiting for me to come home and sometimes, he makes me dinner, sometimes, I cook. That’s pretty much a normal weekday for me!

What would you say is the one thing in your life that takes up the most of your time?
Work and school. I will be totally honest, I can’t stand my classes and the busy work I am given takes up a lot of my time.

What worries do you have in your life?
I worry about EVERYTHING!! Just ask my husband! It’s probably because I watched way too many movies and too much television as a child, but I worry that when my husband goes off to work every day, that he will get in some sort of terrible accident and I will never see him again. (Ok, so I am letting my crazy out a little here, bare with me!) I also worry about drive by shootings and someone stealing my mail. I worry that my husband will leave me because I am a very needy wife. I worry that I won’t be a very good mother- I worry that I will turn out like my mother (or mother-in-law). I worry that we will be up to our eye-balls in debt for our entire lives. I am constantly worrying about losing that job that I absolutely love because I am just not as good as my boss thought I was going to be when she promoted me. I worry that I will never be able to realize my future dreams as a high school theatre teacher. I worry that if I ever do get my dream job, that I will freeze and not know what to do…….yeah, I worry about a lot of things.

What is important to you?
The number one most important thing to me is my Temple recommend and my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have lost both at one time in my life, and it was so painful that I never want to feel that way ever again. However, my husband and our relationship is also very important to me. I know that some people, if their spouse dies before them, are encouraged to re-marry for a number of reasons. I know that I will never remarry if that unfortunate event were to happen to me. He is mine and I am his. I don’t ever want to be married to another. He is my world and my home. Wherever my husband is, I am home. And that’s that. I also think that hard work and determination is important to me. I have never done anything or gotten anywhere in life without those ingredients. I also believe that being someone to look up to is important to me, that is one of the reasons I want to be a teacher. I want to be a good example to my students. 

Do you think you live in a kind community?
Do I feel that I live in a kind community towards myself? No. And I say that because I am constantly ostracized for my beliefs at NAU (work or classes). I have very “traditional” values that are not really accepted in such a liberal community such as NAU. Don’t get me wrong, I chose to come here. But I figured that everyone would just leave me alone and not make fun of me, pass judgments or make snide comments because of my beliefs. I figured that because I don’t do that to others, then others won’t do that to me. How naive. On the flip side, do I feel my community is kind to others? Yes, I do. We are a very “green” community here in Flagstaff, and I can appreciate it- mostly. I think it’s great that the community is doing its part to help save the planet. Yeah for Mother Earth! woo.

What are some examples of kindness you have given or received recently?
Um, I offer people rides home from work so they don’t have to walk in the dark………….. I don’t know…..I don’t know how to answer this question. I enjoy being kind to people on a regular basis. My favorite thing to do is to make sure I say please and thank you. How often do we forget to actually thank someone? I LOVE giving genuine thanks because it lets that person (or those people) know that what they have done makes a difference. And, I figure, I appreciate being appreciated, so why wouldn’t everyone else? I have received many acts of kindness recently. For example, Shawn (my husband) did all the dishes for me while I rested and took care of myself yesterday because I wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t ask for my help and did not say anything. Just did the dishes. And this morning, he started doing the laundry without me asking him 

Tell us one confession of a time you could have been kinder—whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
To this day, I still feel awful about the time where I got mad at a server at a restaurant. We had taken my mother-in-law out to dinner for her birthday and our server must have been new but he kept on forgetting things like our food, utensils, napkins, etc. When he finally brought our food, but no utensils to eat with, I mentioned it to him. He apologized and said he would get them. I then said something along the lines of “great because instead of just looking at my food, I would rather eat it, thanks” in the most snarky tone of voice possible. How rude of me!!! I couldn’t believe it! Where did I even get the guts to even say something like that out loud?! Needless to say, I felt terrible and wasn’t able to enjoy the birthday dinner after all. I think we gave him a decent tip to maybe try and make amends.

Can you think of a time when you relied on the kindness of strangers?
Yes I can. When I was living in Italy, after I got my TEFL certificate, I was moving from Volterra to a small town 30 minutes north of Milan called Guissano. Anyways, I had to pick up and move all of my belongings, which luckily fit into two suitcases and a couple of bags. In order to get there, I had to take three different trains. It was about a five hour trip overall. Well, like any really old train station, Milano Centrale is nothing but stairs-lots and lots of stairs. And I was having a lot of trouble getting all of my luggage up and down those stairs in order to catch my connecting train. Every single time, some guy would see me struggling and I had no idea what he would say to me in Italian except I recognized the word “mano” meaning “hand” and I would always say “si, perfavore”. The kind strangers would help me either up or down the stairs with hands full of luggage and then would just walk off after I said “grazi”. And that was it. They didn’t ever expect anything in return. But I will never ever forget how helpful they were to me that day.

Discuss a time you observed someone being inconsiderate to another.
Ok, this may sound like I am ratting out someone, but I am not. I am just answering the question. So earlier this semester, as part of my job here at NAU as the Theatre Department Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator, I am required to ask for volunteers to help put up posters around town to advertise for our shows. Anyways, I asked the cast of a show to help and I got four volunteers. One of the volunteers was all gung-ho about doing the work, that I didn’t think I would have problems. Well, come to find out, this person didn’t do any of the work I asked of them while the other three fulfilled their jobs completely. I kept trying to contact this person and I never got a response about their progress. I know for a fact that this person never did what I asked of them and therefore, let the entire production down. Who knows how many more people would have come to see the show if this person had done what I asked of them and just got their posters out to the community? I feel that their actions were completely inconsiderate to the production over all, especially because this person did not communicate with me at all.

Finally, tell us anything else you can think of that is important to know about you as a person.
Um, even though I have a lot of stressors in my life, I love life. Life is never as bad as I think it is. I live by many mantras but this one I will share: “you are never fully dressed without a smile” (cheesy, right?....I have always loved it!) I am also grateful for the ability to be here on this beautiful Earth at this time. 
  
~ - ~ - ~
And there you have Nicki! 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Note to Self and Others:

Let me take you back to my introduction post, where I explained the entire purpose of my blog.  I wrote, "My theory is this: people have become so consumed by their own busy lives, that they are no longer aware of the people around them.  Because we are unaware, we are impolite.  The obvious fix for this would be to look outside of ourselves..."

One way I was wanting to do this was by interviewing people around Flagstaff, to introduce them to the world and remind others that individuals we don't know are not simply scenery to the background of our lives; they are people, with lives of their own.  So far, I have only heard back from one person who was willing to fill out my interview questionnaire.  I will work on finding more recruits so we can get to know some of our neighbors here in Flag, AZ!

In the meantime, if YOU are interested in filling out a questionnaire about yourself, drop me an email (alr264[at]nau[dot]edu) or leave me a comment, and I can email you the questions.  Also, remember you are always ALWAYS welcome to write your own post for me to put up on this blog!  Instructions for doing so can be read here.

Challenge for the Day:
Get involved!  Be aware of the needs of others...and then write and tell me all about it. :)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Mildly Morbid Musings

(See what I did there with the title?  That's called an alliteration, when a few words in a row begin with the same sound.)  (I'm officially an English nerd.)

Lately, I have been pondering mortality and all it entails, for several reasons.  One major reason is that I'm taking a course on dealing with grief and bereavement.  My "death class" professor encourages us to think about and actively discuss what we want for ourselves when we die, because so many people never think about it and their families find themselves lost or caught off guard when that person does pass on.  Thinking about my own funeral arrangements, etc, has caused me to think a lot about a time when I had a too-close encounter with death, and relied heavily on the kindness of strangers in order to survive.

Once upon a time...

I was a brand new driver...as a freshman in college.  It took me until TWO DAYS before I moved to Flagstaff to get my license.  I was an extremely inexperienced driver, who had to travel 2 1/2 hours on the interstate at high speeds in order to visit my family.  To put it mildly, my poor little car and I got the beating of a lifetime one day when I made the #1 worst mistake while driving on the highway: overcorrecting the steering wheel.

Long story short, I was going 80 around a sharp-ish curve when the semi truck next to me started creeping over into my lane.  I moved outside my lane; my tires hit the graded shoulder and made that super loud driving-over-a-million-potholes sound.  I freaked out and overcorrected, lost control of my car and rolled several times down a little hill.  Here is what my car looked like pre-accident:
(Not super fancy to begin with...)

And here was my car after rolling off the I-17 at 80mph:


I will spare you the gory pictures of my face...but suffice it to say, I was pretty beat up.  My head went through my driver's side window, my face hit my steering wheel (the car had no airbags; they had deployed with an accident the previous owner was in) and my sunglasses gouged two slices in between my eyebrows.  Miraculously, my seatbelt stayed intact the whole time, and even though my car was upsidedown, I still had to unbuckle my seatbelt to get free.  Even more miraculously, the ONLY only thing I broke was a fingernail.

When all the dust had settled, I was disoriented, was bleeding profusely, and was extremely shaken up.  I was pinned inside my driver seat...I was so confused that I thought I had somehow ended up UNDER my seat, because I was in such a cramped area.  The fact that my seatbelt was still on just confused me even more.  Lots of irrational things were going through my head, like "Dang it, I JUST filled up the tank.  What a waste of gas..." and "Shoot I hope I still make it home tonight."  But really, three things kept repeating themselves in my mind, clear as day:  1) Get out of the car.  2) I need to call Dad and tell him I'm alive.  3) Don't freak out from how much blood there will be.

Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get out of the car, since I was upsidedown and stuck and all.  I was utterly helpless.  All I could do was hope someone would find me and help me out.  I was overwhelmed by the response I got.

The driver of the semi truck was the first one on the scene.  He rushed to my car, saw that I was ok and was trying to get free, and he pulled me out through my busted-out driver side window.  FYI, that's normally a BIG no-no with trauma victims.  But I had a gushing head wound and was sitting head-down, bleeding out rather quickly.  So thank you, Mr. Truck Driver.  This man...he literally took the shirt off of his own back and used it to apply pressure to my head wound.  To this day I can't get over the compassion he showed me.

As divine intervention would have it, both an off-duty EMT and an ER nurse happened to be present, and between the two of them, I was cleaned up and patched up pretty well before the medics arrived.  I remember them being very friendly and calm, which goodness knows I needed at that time of chaos and trauma.  I also remember one woman who wanted so badly to help.  She was fluttering around, asking if there is ANYTHING AT ALL that she could do.  She clearly was out of her element as far as medical attention went, so I asked her to get my phone out of the car and hand it to me.  Then, I asked her to call my dad and tell him what happened.  An added bonus to everything was that two priesthood holders of my faith were there as well and were able to administer a blessing to me.  While all of this care and attention was going on, some onlookers had taken it upon themselves to collect my things that had been strewn across the highway and put them back in what was left of my car.  (My mp3 player went missing out of my purse, which made me sad...but my wallet and checkbook were left alone, so that's sort of kind, right?)  In the meantime, everyone around me was doing everything they could think of to be helpful and show their kindness.

While I lost my car, I am so unbelievably blessed that I turned out as well as I did.  I got a concussion and some lovely bruises and gashes, and still am prone to some lingering back problems, but other than that I was just fine, somehow.  Were it not for the compassion of those total strangers who stopped to help, who knows how bad the situation could've become?  So here is my public thanks to those individuals who helped me that day:

-The semi driver who freed me from my car and used his shirt to slow my bleeding
-Whomever it was that called 911
-The EMT and ER nurse who were prepared with first-aid trauma kits
-The two men who gave me a blessing
-The woman who called my father and kept my family in the loop
-Everyone else who gathered my things and returned them to me without my knowledge

THANK YOU, kind strangers, for everything you did for me that day.  I owe you my life.

Now.  Because I don't expect you to stumble across a potentially fatal accident sometime today, my challenge for the day is a bit different.  I hope you choose to participate.

Challenge for the Day:
Leave a comment on this post or email it to me at alr264[at]nau[dot]edu, sharing an experience you had when you relied on a stranger's kindness, or you were the kind stranger that someone relied on.

Monday, April 9, 2012

The Easter Bunny is REAL.

And the reason I know he's real is because he left me a hefty bundle of cash in an envelope on my door.  What a kind soul he is!


...Ok, I admit, it probably wasn't ACTUALLY the Easter Bunny.  I'm sure he focuses on going to homes with children. :)  But whoever his helper happened to be is my new best friend!  I have my suspicions of who his helper was, but I will keep said suspicions to myself.

Story time!  Read on for a tale of inspiration and kindness:

Saturday was pretty rough for me and my hubby.  We had a lot going on and just felt the stress of adult life in general...running errands, paying bills, etc.  To top it all off, we received a call from our credit union, informing us that our debit cards had been frozen.  Apparently, someone in Pennsylvania got a hold of our card number and was going on fun little spending sprees.  Because we live far from any of our credit union branches, we had to wait til Monday (today) to have access to my fax machine at work in order to fill out paperwork and get everything cleared up.  In the meantime, we had no access to our money, or what was left of it.

Like any other normal human being would do in my situation, I whined about it on Facebook.  Because that's the logical thing to do when you can't fix a problem.  And lo and behold, on Sunday morning when we were rushing off to church (a few minutes late as usual), we found an envelope with a cute little "HAPPY EASTER :D " printed on it.  I thought it was a nice card from my neighbors, so I grabbed it and casually opened it in the car.  No card...but there was a pretty little bit of mulah in there!

I was so overwhelmed with gratitude I wanted to cry.  Again, I have a sneaking suspicion that Easter Bunny's little helper is someone in particular whom I know and love very well...but I will never know for sure.  Either way, I am so humbly grateful that someone was kind enough to put out so much money for my/my husband's sakes.  Because I am unable to pay them back, it seems my only option is to pay it forward.  I invite all of you to do the same on our behalf!

Challenge for the Day:
Fork out some extra cash.  (Feed someone's parking meter, pay for a load at the laundromat, give your spare change when someone asks for it, leave an extra generous tip...etc.)

Monday, April 2, 2012

Joel Olson

Dear Readers,

I have several other things I need to be doing right now, but I've neglected my blog for a few days now, and I just need to take a moment to write my feelings.

I believe it was last Wednesday that Joel Olson passed away.  Such a sudden, tragic loss. :(  Joel was, from what I hear, an outstanding associate professor at NAU, teaching political science.  But I knew him outside of school.  I recently worked as a child care worker at a gym, and Joel and his wife worked out several times a week and would drop off their three kids.  I adore that family.  They are the nicest people, and their kids are just a blast.  Exhausting, but a blast. :)  I have met very few people as sincere and involved with everything as Joel; he truly lived his life.  He was extremely politically active, and even though a few of his ideologies are different from mine, I always admired how he stood up for his beliefs and was...always DOING something about problems he saw.  If he disagreed with legislation or a social trend or whatnot, he immediately would try to change it instead of sitting back and complaining, like so many citizens do.  And everyone I know who took his classes said that he was very fair and taught them how to think, not what to think. 

More than all of this, I saw how he was with his family and how he treated other human beings in general.  As soon as I introduced myself to him one of the first days I worked at the gym, he started calling me by my name as if we were best friends.  "Have a good weekend, Amy!"  When his kiddos told him I was having a baby, he got excited for me.  And when I was super sick because of my pregnancy, he would tell his children to be extra good for me so I wouldn't have to run around after them.  He was genuinely concerned for my welfare--me, who was barely an acquaintance of his, really.  And, my goodness, was he a great husband and father.  He just loved the heck out of his family.  Every time he walked into the daycare to pick up his kids, every day, they would light up.  His youngest, a sweet 3-year-old girl, would latch onto his leg.  "DADDY!"  He would grin, bend over, engulf her in his arms, and give her a kiss.  Every time one of his kids showed him a drawing or coloring page they had done, he would be sincerely interested and pleased.  It's so easy for parents to just automatically say, "Looks great."  Not Joel.  He actually cared; he would take it out of his kids hands for a closer look, and would say, "I like how many colors you used.  I love how the tank is shooting lasers...that is so creative!  Ah wow, look!  That's our family!  You are getting to be such an artist."  I never once saw him get angry or lose his patience.  He would get stern a few times when his kids were acting out, but that's it.  And he spoke so respectfully to his wife.  Again, I didn't know every intimate detail of Joel's life, but he was a man I always admired and appreciated. 

None of the articles or memorials I have read have demonstrated how tender he was with his wife and children, and that is what I loved most about Joel Olson.  I knew him best as a family man and a kind soul.  I just felt a great need to emphasize this point so that that important and integral piece of him didn't get lost among all of his great political and social accomplishments.

Now, all of that having been said, this is a blog about kindness, and I do have a point to this tribute.  I'm a member of the Remembering Joel Olson page on Facebook, and there is a link to a sign up for bringing his family meals.  My former coworker let me know about it, and I immediately logged on to look for an evening I could bring a meal to their family.  I was shocked to see the number of people who had already signed up...as of today, there are only 6 slots available...the time slots go all the way until June 29th.  It almost brought tears to my eyes to see such a huge amount of kindness pouring into Joel's family in this simple but significant way.  On their behalf, I am pleased and grateful that their support system is so widespread.  The compassion that people show when someone passes away is truly touching and inspiring.

You are dearly missed, Joel.  God be with you 'til we meet again.

Challenge for the Day:
Write a heartfelt letter or make a phone call, letting someone know how much you care about them.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

First Guest Poster: Beth Root

I feel like I'm cheating...the first guest poster on my blog is my little sister.  But she actually volunteered awhile ago and followed all the directions and rules!  So here is her post (PS, I took the liberty of adding pictures.  Thanks again, Google Images!):


Hola! My name is Beth Root. I’m Amy’s little sister, also here at NAU. I’m a wee little freshman – although since this year is almost over, I’m not a wee little freshman anymore. I’ve been living in Flagstaff for just over 10 months. Flagstaff has a lot of crazies and a lot of punks. But, I’ve found that Flagstaff is filled with some of the most wonderful people. I wouldn’t have survived up here without the kindness of so many people.  So, I’m here to share with you some kindness people have shown me recently.

There was one instance where I was walking to the Institute building (also known as the Welcome Center) and there was a young man walking behind me. As I approached the door, he rushed ahead of me. I was even reaching for the door, but he reached out also, making sure he got it first, simply so he could open the door for me. It was a super simple gesture, but it just showed to me that chivalry is not dead.  He was thinking outside himself, which people can always do more.


Another morning, I was on the bus.  It was crowded and I ended up standing up. At the next stop, some seats opened up. There was only one open seat by me.  I looked at the guy standing by me, uncertain if I should go ahead and sit down or if I should let someone else sit down – remembering some posts Amy’s done here. He made eye contact with me and it looked like he was about to sit down, but then he turned to me and said, “You can go ahead and sit down,” and moved aside. It was once again, a very simple gesture, but I was incredibly grateful.  Because, one, I have pretty much awful balance, and every time the bus has to stop, I feel like I’m going to topple over into someone’s lap. And, two, it just showed that, once again, people are kind! I think we sometimes assume that people we don’t know won’t show kindness – at least, I do. I mean, I don’t think we assume people are horrible, awful, mean people, but that they just won’t go out of their way to show kindness. But they do!

This morning, I was walking to my Spanish class. It was 8:00, it was cold, I was tired, and all those things meant that I was looking down, scowling at the ground. When I looked up, there was a girl walking towards me. She smiled at me and waved, as if we were best buds. At first I was puzzled, but then I was filled with a happiness. Who cares that she had no clue who I was, that I had no clue who she was? Why can’t we just smile and wave at strangers and not have it be questioned?

So, I’ve been trying to show my kindness – I’m not particularly good at it. I have a hard time doing it with complete strangers. But, I’ve done thing like the dishes for my roommates and leaving a note on a friend’s car that I was walking by. You know. Just spreading the love. Because love makes the world go round. 

Monday, March 26, 2012

Who wants to Guest Post? :D

Dear Readers,

It's YOUR TURN!  I want YOU to tell me about kindness that you've seen at some point in your life.  I would love to hear from as many of you as possible!  It's super easy (I realize I use the word "super" rather often...gotta work on that), and here's how you do it:

-Pick a topic: act of kindness you did, kindness done to you, kindness you saw, or something similar
-Email it to me, Amy, at alr264[at]nau[dot]edu
-Make sure to include all pictures, links, videos, etc in the email
-I will reply promptly and let you know if and when I will post your entry!

IMPORTANT:  There are a couple of things I ask you not to include in your wonderful entry:
1.  No profanity, please.  Keep in mind this blog is public, and readers of all ages are welcome.  Let's keep it family-friendly. :)
2.  No personal information.  Name and email or website is fine, but anything other than that (such as phone numbers or home addresses) will be edited out for your safety.

I can't wait to hear from you!

*SUBJECT CHANGE*

I amazingly had a couple hours of free-time today.  After getting over the initial shock of having nothing to immediately do or nowhere I needed to be, I decided to search around for some other places on the internet where people are spreading kindness.  I found some fantastic sites!  I was seriously bubbling over with joy at how dedicated some of these people and groups are to making the world a better, kinder place.  I included a few links on my sidebar; you should take a look!  If you get involved in any of the causes, leave a comment on this post and let me know!

Challenge for the Day:
Write a guest post...and check out some of the links under "Kind Websites!" :)

Friday, March 23, 2012

This is our world today.

You know those stories where people do the right thing and end up getting stung for it?

If you're familiar with Bible stories, you may know about Joseph and the coat of many colors, who was sold into Egypt and ended up making friends in high places.  (If you're not familiar, you can read about it here, chapters 37 and 39.)  One of these friends was Potiphar, who was married.  Joseph apparently caught the eye of Potiphar's wife, she tried to seduce/proposition him, Joseph turned her down on moral grounds, and she was offended.  She told Potiphar that Joseph tried to seduce her, and Joseph was arrested and thrown in prison.

So Joseph refused to sleep with a married woman, and he got arrested...?
I don't get it either...
 Now, how about getting arrested for being a designated driver?  For PREVENTING drunk driving?  A friend of mine told me the story and I couldn't believe it until I read it for myself.  Read this article for the story.

Quick summary: Jonathan Schoenakase of Quincy, Illinois had a friend who was killed by a drunk driver.  To prevent others from experiencing the same tragic end, he started waiting around outside bars to give FREE rides to people too intoxicated to drive.  Cab drivers started griping...Jonathan has been arrested more than once for not having a business license.  Let me emphasize the part where the rides are *free.*  Admittedly, he has accepted a few donations, but he has never once asked for payment.

So acts of kindness are now illegal.  No wonder they are happening less and less often.

Challenge for the Day:
Thank or compliment someone for doing something nice.  It will encourage further kindness!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

And I'm freeee...Free fallin'!

After months of a super dry, non-snowy winter, the weather decided to DUMP on Flagstaff, a few days before Spring officially starts.  And one day after beautiful, sunny temperatures.  Silly weather.

(Borrowed this picture from my friend's Facebook.)  This is the result of not even a day and a half of storm, after a long period of no snow ANYWHERE. 

Something I've learned in my 3+ years of living in this city is that ice is slippery; snow is crunchy.  It's better to walk in snow a few inches deep than it is to walk on a flat, icy surface!  Wear snowboots that are waterproof and have lots of rubber tread, even if they aren't cute.  Don't buy $12 cute Walmart boots that have FOAM soles...they are not waterproof, nor do they grip even crunchy snow.  (And please don't wear stilettos.  Apparently some girls at NAU think that's a good idea...I don't even want to get started on that one.)  Also, if you go slow and step toe-first instead of heel-first, you'll usually do just fine walking on ice.  So after having learned all these great bits of snow wisdom, you think I'd be prone to falling, right?

Theoretically, anyway.

I have AWESOME boots that I love.  They are pictured below, but mine are much rattier looking because of all the mileage they've gotten:
Warm, comfy, grippy tread, durable.  And affordable.  I have NEVER fallen in the snow or even on ice since I've bought these babies!  I may slip, but I've been able to catch myself every time.

Until today.

BUT, in my defense, my boots are not to blame!  My baby is.  Haha :)  I slipped, was able to get traction back, but then lost my balance and biffed it right as I was stepping onto the sidewalk from the road.  Something about being 27 weeks pregnant throws off your whole equilibrium...or something.  I felt a little bit like this:


Scraped my knee a little, but my pride was more wounded than anything else.  :)  Even so, a couple girls walking by stopped and asked if I was ok.  I was fine, so I laughed it off and very ungracefully got back on my feet.  I was super embarrassed they saw my little spill!  For my ego's sake I would've preferred if they kept on walking and pretended like nothing happened.  But for humanity's sake, I am SO happy they were concerned enough to make sure I was alright.  What if I had fallen hard on my belly and induced early labor?  What if I fractured a bone?  Got a concussion?  I would've definitely appreciated their care and attention in those cases.

Thankfully, nothing happened, and all is well.  But I am so glad two girls were kind enough to be concerned about a poor, clumsy stranger's welfare.  Thanks, ladies!

Challenge for the Day:
Lend a helping hand, in whatever way you see fit.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A sad day for NAU...

First, I want to announce that I revamped my blog a bit because I had several people letting me know they had a hard time reading my font.  Sorry!  Hopefully this is easier to read.  Also, I fixed the link in the previous post to the super funny YouTube clip about driving.  Take a look if you didn't get a chance before...totally worth 41 seconds of your time!  One last thing: my mother pointed out that in the previous post one of the images I used was copywritten, so I changed it.  Didn't feel like dealing with lawsuits or anything. :)

Now, onto the post!  I don't have much to say today.  I am again posting about something that is far from kind...and maybe this isn't even a big deal to lots of people, but it's something that made me extremely sad when I found out.

Northern Arizona University has several creative sculptures around its campus, many of which you can view at this website: http://www.squidoo.com/flagstaff-public-art-murals.  One of my favorites is a sculpture outside a North Campus building, where someone took a tree stump and carved an owl into it.  I think it's so creative!  Here's a picture:
Awesome, right?  I can't get over how much time and skill it would take to do this.  If I were more on top of my NAU history, I could tell you who carved this and how long ago it was created.  But I'm not remembering, and can't find anything in my internet searches.  Sorry!

The other day, I saw this picture circulating around a few of my friends' profiles on Facebook:
Someone beheaded the poor tree stump owl!  A person or a group of people took someone's masterpiece and a piece of NAU's history...and destroyed it, ruined beyond repair.  I really have no words.  Speechless.

I hate to end so abruptly, but I truly feel as if the pictures speak for themselves.  I can't believe anyone would do this, whether they thought it was a funny prank, or what.  To me, this isn't anything but sad and unfortunate.

Challenge for the Day:
Leave a piece of the world more beautiful than it previously was.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Ten Days

For those of you who look at my blog on a regular basis, I apologize for my brief hiatus.  I've been kind of MIA from every aspect of life...work, classes, my internship, normal errands...blah.  I've been alternating between being bedridden and running around frantically trying to catch up on parts of life I've missed.  Forgive me, dear readers!

It has now been ten days since I've posted, and there have been so many things I've seen or heard that I desperately have wanted to blog about.  And maybe because I've been sick, I've been less tolerant of, well, everything.  I've been noticing more and more rude behaviors, and my number one gripe with the city of Flagstaff is ALL OF THE AWFUL DRIVERS.



Here is a brief list of driving offenses that have frustrated me:

-Running red lights.
-Narrowly missing pedestrians in the crosswalk.
-Smoking marijuana while driving.  Seriously, guys?  Medicinal or not, that's just dumb.
-Cutting through my apartment's tiny lot in order to avoid the three-way stop on the road...and almost running down my husband standing by our mailbox.
-Driving 15 mph under the speed limit.
-Assuming the light is turning green, creeping into the intersection, and then slamming your breaks when you realize oncoming traffic has a green arrow.
-Driving down oncoming traffic's turn lane in order to pass the traffic jam in your own lane (and me almost hitting you head-on as I'm merging into the turn lane).
-Tailgating.
-Texting while driving.
-Seeing someone using their turn signal wanting to merge in front of you, and speeding up so they can't.
-Bumping a parked car, and leaving the scene.
-Blocking the intersection because the lane in front of you is backed up, and you didn't want to stop behind the line.

Honestly, I could go on for hours about the horrible driving habits of Flagstaff residents.  But because making this list is getting me wound up, I'm going to stop there.  If you're as outraged as I am, click HERE for a little comic relief.  Actually, just click it anyway because it's pretty funny. :)

I hope I will have a more cheery post for you in the near future...again, I apologize it has been so long since I've checked in!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and please, PLEASE stay safe on the roads.  There are some crazies out there.

Challenge for the Day:
Follow ALL traffic rules, even turning lane-to-lane, and stopping instead of "slow rolling" at stop signs.  And for the love of all that is good in this world, please only drive sober.  Thank you.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Good morning!

Here is a well-known fact about me: I am sooo not a morning person.  I think I stopped being a morning person after, I dunno, third grade.

So naturally, I'm kind of a crab before noon.  Ironically enough, I am the student worker who got landed with opening the office at 8 am...four days a week.  I don't have a key, so I wait outside my office door for my boss to come unlock it, and because we're located RIGHT inside the student union's front doors, I see everyone who comes in.  They are all either going to their own offices, or else heading over to Starbucks for a quick morning shot of caffeine.  Everyone pretty much looks as groggy as I feel, so I don't ever go out of my way to make eye contact or say nice things.  No one else ever does either...

...Except for this morning.  This young man, maybe 20 or so, waltzed right in the front door with a staggering amount of energy, flashed the biggest grin ever at me, and boomed out a resonating "Good mornin'!"  I couldn't help but return his smile; I even managed a weak, croaky "Morning!" of my own.  I felt instantly less grumpy.  Goodness knows I needed that boost of happy.

I think I'm going to try to be a bit happier and more friendly in the morning now, because I know it made a huge difference when that guy was friendly to me.  Why don't you all join me in this challenge? :)

Challenge for the Day:
Smile at a stranger and tell them "Good morning."