Pay it forward

I'd like to start this post by saying that I'm addicted to caffeine. It's a problem. Usually I get frustrated when I spend money on coffee (which I do at least twice a week), but today, my trip to the coffee shop was the highlight of my day.

I always stop by a coffee shop on campus that is combined with a food court. I was next in line to pay, when the cashier said, "$5.35" to the girl in front of me in line. The girl looked at the $5 bill in her hand, looked back at the cashier, and managed to mumble an "uhhhhh, well my wallet..." Normally I would just switch lines; she clearly was going to take a while to go get her wallet, but I surprised myself by blurting out, "Oh, I have 35¢!" The girl looked at me as I began digging in the change pocket of my wallet. "Thank you so much," is all she said, but the thankful smile on her face made my day. It was so spur the moment; I said it without even thinking about it. 

It was a simple act of kindness that made my smile and, hopefully, it made the girl's day as well. As I walked out of the food court, my heart swelled. It felt so good to help out a random stranger. I couldn't help but hope that she now does a random act of kindness for someone. Pay it forward. It will never hurt; it will only make you better and happier.

Seeing the future

I was talking to my roommate this afternoon about random things. I mentioned that I needed to start thinking about who I wanted to take on my sorority's next date night. I grumbled about how I wished I had a go-to guy to ask and how I always seem to wait until the last minute to ask someone on my date nights. My roommate rolled her eyes and said, "Megan, I see your future life and I am jealous of it." It was a quick statement as we seamlessly moved onto another topic, but it really stood out to me.

So often we spend time obsessing over other people. We stalk them on Facebook (whether we admit it or not), talk to our friends about how wonderful their life is, and so on. We put all of this energy, whether we realize it or not, into that person's life. It might seem inconsequential to you, but you give that person power over your life that they don't need nor deserve.

I'm guilty of it. I constantly comparing myself to others; we all do it. While my roommates comment made me feel really good about myself, it also made me realize that I shouldn't allow other people to influence my life in such monumental ways. I should get to choose who my mentors, life coaches and friends are and I will give them the ability to influence my life. I'm freeing these random people that I constantly compare myself to, they no longer have a hold over me (even though I gave them that power in the first place). I'm choosing to be happy with myself and my life and, for now, that is enough for me.