Although it may seem trivial, saying “thank you” really goes a long way. People in today’s society do not say thanks enough, either because they are lazy, or they just don’t think about it. However, being polite is extremely powerful; it can make someone’s day a lot brighter, which can have lasting effects. Last week, for one day, I made a conscience effort to be more polite, and not just to people I know, but to those I don’t know as well. The results were greater than I could ever have expected.
In the beginning of the day, thanking people took some effort. Granted, I am typically a polite girl, but I wanted to make sure that I go above and beyond today. So, as I was walking into school, instead of going right to my normal spot, I stayed outside, and held the door for the person coming up behind me. Now this person wasn’t right behind me; she was just getting out of her car as I was going into the school. I debated with myself if I should wait and keep holding the door until she came, or if I should just go on inside like I normally would. Because today was my polite day, so I waited and held the door. It was a good thing I did, too, because she was carrying a lot of things, and I knew that it would have been a struggle for her to open the door by herself.
“Thank you so much!” she said with a huge smile. Although it was just holding the door, I could tell that she really meant it and was genuinely happy. That had an infectious effect, brightening my day.
Alright, one thank you down, a whole day to go. This shouldn’t be that hard. As I was walking up the stairs of the library, I noticed that waiting for me at the top was someone holding the door.
“Thank you!” I say as I grab the door from her hands, and I was about to walk right through into the library, when I stop myself again. Hold the door, Devon . Be polite. So I waited and held the door for the next person coming up behind me. Once again, the person, although I have never seen him before, gave me a hearty thanks, for merely holding open a door.
I continue like this for the remainder of the first part of the day, stopping and reminding myself to thank people and be more polite instead of rushing through the day like I typically do. As the day progressed, however, being polite came naturally, and by lunch block, it required no effort at all. When I went to the bathroom in the beginning of lunch to wash my hands, I thanked the girl next to me for letting me use the sink. I also thanked her for letting me reach over to grab the paper towels. It may seem like overkill, but these excessive “thank you”s came naturally to me by then, and was not forced at all.
At the end of the day, my last period class was in the 300s, and I had stayed after with that teacher until about 3:15. As I left the class, I thanked my teacher for the help, and looked back as I saw her face light up with a smile. The day is almost over; I don’t have to be polite for that much longer! But then it clicked: I didn’t have to make a conscience effort and force myself to be polite, it was coming naturally and I actually enjoyed it.
Then I spotted two janitors sweeping the 300s hallway and chit chatting. Normally I would have walked right by them and continued to my car, pretending I never saw them. Today is different, and I am different. So, I stopped and thanked them for sweeping and to have a great day. This caught them off guard, because they clearly were not used to students thanking them. They both returned my thanks with a “your welcome”, showing that they were touched. Their happiness made me happy as well.
Because I left the school that day in such a great mood, I decided to be more polite and thank people more. Never before did I know how powerful a thank you can have on not only the person being thanked, but also the thanker.
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