Prioritize positivity

“Be a good person.”

Those were the joking, parting words of Scott Peters, former roommate, and my dear friend before he left for another room. I initially laughed, as such advice is often regarded as a joke, and wished him well. However, in the days after he had left, I took some time to reflect on what he said and realized that his words mean much more than meets the eye.

The world needs more heroes. However, heros can take many forms; not everyone needs to be a Tracer or Reinhart. Ordinary people are heros in their own way. With all the violence in the world, with all the hate and killing, simple acts of kindness often go unappreciated. Helping someone cross the street, or putting away their groceries, or even something as simple as telling someone they look nice often makes someone else’s day better. You don’t need to save lives to make a difference! I feel like there’s a fundamental decline in the amount of positivity that is present in the world. Especially here, at RPI, people are slowly losing sight of their happiness.

I understand that work is hard, that school sucks, and that tests are awful. But people sometimes let that get to them and forget that they are intrinsically good people. I see a lot of my friends consumed by negativity: unable to be happy and enjoy their lives. Take some time for yourself once in a while. Take a hike outdoors, volunteer for a charity, participate in a fundraiser, do anything that will take your time off the stresses in your life. Then, you can share your happiness with the world.

One thing I did this week was spend an hour helping at a church. I carried flowers into the main sanctuary, so that the church workers could rearrange them in beautiful arrangements. It didn’t take me any time, but the smiles on their faces and the gratitude they gave me in return was well worth it. I don’t really go to church, but helping people shouldn’t be bounded by anything.

“Be a bad person.”

Those were the parting words of Geoffrey Rosenthal, former Features editor, and my dear friend before he left for the adult world….