What It Means To Make a Difference
In April of this year (2000), my friends Kazu and Tina and I took a trip to Vancouver, BC.We were there for the annual TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference.
The one thing that impressed me was how genuinely nice people were that I interacted with. Having grown up in South Carolina and being Japanese, I experienced my share of prejudice and discrimination. So, I think I can say that I know what it feels like when people give you "the look." The look that you are different.
Anyway, we stayed at a youth hostel on Main Street of downtown Vancouver. The youth hostel environment in itself was an international experience. There were people from all over. They were mostly very open and there was a pretty friendly atmosphere.
The city of Vancouver is BEAUTIFUL!! Even though it was raining a lot of the time we were there, I really enjoyed it. It's a clean city, and the scenery of the mountains to the north is incredible.
Simple encounters with people such as the bus driver or the guy sitting behind the bank counter left a great impression. They were warm and open and interested to actually hold a longer conversation than just, "Hello. Thank you very much. Have a nice day." They seemed genuinely interested in finding out a little more about me and open to share themselves.
It seems that people are generally pretty neutral when they have a job dealing with lots of people. They may even be negative. Maybe I have come to expect that and interact with that unconsciously in my mind. But, I have come to realize the sad fact that for me, at least, encountering genuinely 'nice' people in everyday life is unusual. I was in unfamiliar territory, nervous and not knowing where to go and how to get there. And having such genuine interactions with people REALLY made a difference in how I percieve Vancouver and how I enjoyed my trip
Having grown up being shy and not strong in social interactions--and reflecting on my trip to Vancouver and other places--I have been trying to "Be the change you wish to see in the world" as Gandhi once said. Even though it takes a lot of effort over a long period of time tochange myself, I aspire to be someone that can make a difference in the lives of the people I encounter, even if the encounter is brief. I think it starts with understanding how much one person can affect others.
One smile, one kind word, one expression of genuine sincerity can make all the difference.
