AndyLand: Signs.

Often times, we dismiss the signs. The signs that something may be wrong. Or off. Or actually right. We are blind. Blind to happiness and blind to sadness. Accepting the truth is the biggest sign we ignore. Denial is only one tactic. Merely ignorance can get the job done. The amount of pretentious people in this world is astounding. No one knows what's best for anyone else, let alone themselves. Pretending to be happy is sometimes even worse than letting sadness consume us. Fake. That's all we are. We are fake people in a fake world. Ignoring the signs. Rejecting the joys. Taking the sadness for granted. Let's be real. (And I mean that in the most literal and figurative sense) : You don't know who you are. No one does. It's still a mystery. Our personalities, our deepest fears, our most precious desires are all mysteries. A layered life we live. With each passing moment, peeling a layer away to expose our raw selves. Our real selves. Ignorance, denial, they're just adding to the layers. You don't have to go looking for the signs, but don't go avoiding them either.

AndyLand: Watch Where You Walk

You hurt someone today. It's a sad fact. You said something without knowing how it would affect someone. You cut someone off in traffic. You stepped on someone's foot. You neglected to hold the door open for a teacher. You did something to put a damper on someone's day. The difficult thing about other people's feelings, is that you don't even realize when you've hurt them half the time. It's unavoidable, too. There's no way you can know every time you stepped on someone's foot, or confidence, or feelings.

I can't fix that. No one can. We hurt someone every day. We're human. It happens. But I do try to make up for the things that I've done. So, for me, I want to help ten people for every one person I stepped on. It's an easy task. Smile in the hallway. Open a door for someone. Wave at them. Pick up something they dropped. Ask them how their day was. The list is infinite. You never know when one harsh word could push someone, teetering on the edge, overboard. In the same situation, one nice word could throw them a rope of saftey.

The thing about being nice is that after a while of remembering to do it, it becomes routine. It's YOUR routine. It turns into YOUR actions. Which turn into YOUR reputation. For those of us still in middle or high school, this is the time when our feelings are going to be most vulnerable. But one thing most people don't realize is this: Our feelings don't just vanish the minute we enter the workforce. They're still there. So choose to be a kind boy or girl today, and become a kind man or woman tomorrow. Pick up your feet and watch where you walk.