iExamen 2

Sean Conboy

        This week’s iExamen challenged us to for the duration of an entire day say nothing but kind, useful, and true things to whomever we encountered over the course of that day.  Through participation and careful observation I was able to see that kind and useful speech can go a long way in making someone feel good about themselves.  I was also able to observe that sometimes it is extremely difficult to remain so positive towards all people, but ultimately it helped me feel better about myself often helping me improve relationships with other people.

         From sun up to sun down last Saturday I made my best efforts to maintain a positive attitude towards all people saying things that were only kind, useful and true.  Through the first few hours of the day I did not tell my friends that I was participating in such an activity.  It was at breakfast that my friends brought it up that I was acting strangely nice.   They thought it was comical the level of friendliness I was expressing. Not that I am a mean spirited person on a day to day basis; but generally I make the best use of a tool many know as sarcasm.  Being a sarcastic person I often joke about things that people say, often finding humor in over exaggerations or certain things that people say.  I had to refrain from such humor, combatting the urge to be sarcastic by being extremely genial and involved in every conversation that took place over the course of the day.  The activity made me more involved and interested in the things my friends said which made me enjoy their company a lot more.

         Walking on the quad and around campus I was friendly to every person who passed by smiling and saying hi to whomever would have it.  I observed more than ever how some people do not take well to such over friendliness.  Some people keep to themselves looking down at the ground as they walk with headphones in, almost limiting themselves to living in their own little world.  This contrasted other people who were excited and friendly to see someone going out of their way to just say hi.  From this aspect I realized it is nice to be that friendly on a daily basis as I always enjoy when a random person passes and just says hello.  Although not a big task it really can help make someone’s day.

        This activity that we participated in was extremely interesting as it helped me learn more about the different habits people have in regards to friendly communication.  Although it is tough to be one hundred percent friendly all the time, going out of your way to just say hello or just being kind to someone who looks like they need it can prove to be a cleansing experience.