Every summer, some of my favorite memories are associated with family vacations and also with National Doughnut Day and National Ice Cream Day. There is something special about the warm air and enjoying sweet treats with my family.
Throughout the year, I am always looking forward to each of these different recognition days, whether at a national level or the international level. Each one of these days brings about different emotions.
Both National Doughnut Day and National Ice Cream Day give us all a chance to come together in the summer to take a moment and enjoy spending time with one other.
Throughout the year, we may become fixated on a wide variety of diets, but this gives us the opportunity to take a break and en- joy these things freely.
We may have that go-to ice cream shop or doughnut shop, but these days give us that occasion we were looking to try out that new shop with our friends and family. There is a sense of camaraderie in going to the local doughnut or ice cream shop with people from around the neighborhood who are coming together for the occasion.
One of the things I value the most is kindness and doing what we can in any manner to bring a smile to others.
To me, random acts of kindness are always really important.
Each year, I always look forward to International Day of Happiness and National Random Act of Kindness Day. As college students living our busy lives, we become so focused on our class work, extracurriculars and careers that sometimes we become laser-focused on certain areas of our lives and lose track of others.
It is important that we al- ways look and see what we can do for others. It can be even the smallest of actions, like surprising your friend or classmates with their favorite drink from the Student Center.
There may be people that we have not connected with in a while; kind acts bring a fun chance to do something nice and reconnect with others.
While we should strive to celebrate happiness and do random acts of kindness for others every day, occasions like these holidays give us a special reminder.
Whether we look at the Tech community, the Atlanta community or any community around the world, what makes each one of them special is the people that make up each community and the different roles they play in society. Across the year, the calendar is filled with days recognizing the people that make up our community: International Women in Engineering Day, International Women’s Day, National Student Athlete Day and National Mentor Day.
Once again, this becomes a case of encouraging people to celebrate each day, as well as the incredible accomplishments and contributions these groups have made in society.
But, at least on these days, these occasions give us the opportunity to reflect on the impact these groups have made on us and several others around us. Similar to random acts of kindness, acts of appreciation can be done in any size. It is all about finding ways to support, encourage and show gratitude to others that make our communities whole even though people may argue that some of these holidays are just made up by businesses for promotional purposes.
However, life is all about find- ing joy in the little things. These days are about celebrating what makes the world around us special—all with special people around us. There is no such thing as too much appreciation. These special national and international recognition days truly epitomize the phrase from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”: “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
So, go out there and keep your eyes peeled for days like these and many more.