Snaps for Sarah

Encourage someone. Sounds easy enough, right? What is 'encouragement' anyway? Is it just 'you can do it!'? Maybe for the most attention hungry person, it could be, but when you know people in your life like my friend Sarah, sometimes it's not that easy. Usually if someone tells her she can do something she will respond with 'thanks, I think I can, too' or something along those lines. She possibly could be know as defiant. It's more so tell her she can't do something and she will do everything possible to prove you wrong, and this is just one of the many reasons why I love her. Sarah has been someone I've looked up to for a long time because partly of her defiance. She will do anything for those she loves and she doesn't care (on the outside) how much she has to suffer for it. In college, she worked three jobs and slept way too little to make sure things got done. She took on a high workload and was able to graduate early. Then she went on to graduate school and got her masters degree. Now she's in the 'real world'.

She has a job that is in her field and not many people can say that within a year after getting that degree. Her field is not for the faint of heart considering in the social work area. I remember when she first got the job, she was very excited and was ready to make a difference in the lives of her consumers. I think she has, and it's partially the reason that she's still holding on to the position. You see, Sarah can also bottle everything up and become a shell of existence. She's not really a different Sarah, just one that you need to dig a little deeper to get real involvement with. The shell does affect relationships around her, but she also knows that (at least with the inner circle) we will still be there, even if it's after we need to say wake up. So, like I said, part of the reason is to help the consumers, and part of the reason is to say 'yes, I can!'. Where this relates to my task is that I called her yesterday and allowed her talk for about an hour and a half on the stresses of her job and just life in general. I know she appreciates it because sometimes you can only talk to yourself for so long before voicing the concern needs doing. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she's just drained of Sarah. How I encouraged her is by reminding her that sometimes you do need to be more selfish. Just take a step back and say 'I'm just one person. I can't save the planet by myself''. I also encouraged her to not set too many expectations. When you wake up and say 'today will be a good day', in a way, you are setting too high of an expectation. There are too many variables in one day. Therefore, if you say something like 'I will make on person happy today' then your goal is much more focused and if you make one person happy then you can say that you had a good day. 

In a nut shell, my friend Sarah is awesome! That is one thing that sometimes she just tends to forget, but it's quite true. Now, I encourage you to be more selfish, which probably isn't the best wording. Be more aware of what makes YOU happy. Who cares if it makes someone else happy. Don't sweat the small stuff. Live life not worrying of everything. If a fellow driver cuts you off and makes you swerve to miss then, take a deep breath and think that maybe they are going to the hospital, or that they are having a bad day. Lastly, a wise woman once told me 'We may be poor but it doesn't cost anything to show politeness or kindness'.  Everyone has their own stresses, just smile and tell them that you hope they have a great day!