I have been working at a hotel as a housekeeper for the past five years. The job has always been very enjoyable because of my co-workers, hotel guests, and the fact that there is always cleaning to be done (which makes the day go by really fast). Every once in a while, something really great happens while I am at work.
In the summer of 2007, I met a hotel guest who was a driver for a bus company; his name was Glen. We chatted as I cleaned his room one day about my future, his future, my life, his life, his grandchildren, and his passion for life. Glen is an incredibly special man. He told me about how he survived not one, not two, but three severe heart attacks. The doctors never thought he would make it through his first bypass surgery, but he has made it through three. He told me about how the doctors considered him a living miracle. I got to know Glen pretty well over this four night stay and we talked about everything from the importance of having a strong faith, to loving animals, and making family and friends a priority in life. He truly lived each day as a gift it truly is and told me his reason for staying healthy was so he could be there to watch his grandson grow up. When we met, he had not had a heart attack in over three years.
Unfortunately, I was out of the town the day he was scheduled to leave. When I came into work two days later, there was a card in my locker where I keep my things. I opened it to find a thoughtful thank you from Glen. He thanked me for our conversations, told me how I am a great asset to the hotel, and how I was just another one of God's gifts he had found. He ended up leaving me with money to put towards school--something incredibly generous of him. His card was unexpected, thoughtful, and kind. Glen impacted me. He crosses my mind from time to time because of the person he is and the qualities he possesses. Glen taught me that we are all living miracles and to live each day like it is your last.
His generosity was small. His impact was big. I will never forget Glen.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Generosity in Small Portions Story #1
It has been quite a while since I last blogged which is embarrassing to admit. I randomly think of blog topics and write them down, but am yet to do any writing on these topics. One topic that I have numerous stories to share about is that of generosity in small portions. Over the next few days, weeks, and hopefully not months, I want to share these stories with you.
What I mean by "generosity in small portions" is:
I have been really lucky to experience this more than once in my life.
In September 2007, my life made a huge change. I was a freshmen in college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Not only was I away from home, at a new school, starting a new phase in my life, but I also had a new job. Seems insignificant to all the other changes in my life, right? I spent the summer working at Wal-Mart close to home before I made my move into the dorms. Luckily, I was able transfer to a Wal-Mart close to school and work on the weekends. At the time, I was thankful to have a job immediately because it was going to save me the effort of searching along with hundreds of other students.
There has never been a job that I have despised as much as I despised this one in my life. This was definitely not even close to being my first job since I had been working at farms since I was in seventh grade. My co-workers were not friendly, I disliked the hours I worked, the job prevented me from going home on the weekends to see my family, and I felt that only 10% of the customers were nice (and no, I am not exaggerating). As a result, the days were long and the pay checks never felt worth it.
On my third weekend of working there, a lady came to my check out lane. She was purchasing a lot of snacks as well as my most favorite candy in the world: Milk Duds. I made a comment about how Milk Duds were my favorite candy. She then told me how her daughter had just started her freshmen year of college in Madison and asked if I was in school. I told her how I was in the same boat as her daughter and had just started myself. She explained to me how she missed her daughter and that she had planned to send her a care package because she was feeling homesick. We talked quite a bit about how I was feeling with college, being away from home, and how I missed my mom for nearly 10 minutes because I had no line of customers at the time. Once she left, I did not think much of the situation, other than the fact that I was thankful to have experienced a kind and caring customer that early in my day.
Nearly four hours later, the store was swamped with customers and it became quite the routine of greeting, sliding purchases across the scanner, and making change for customers. I looked up to greet the next customer in line during an hour rush and it was the woman I chatted with earlier. She was purchasing one box of Milk Duds and I joked and said, "Didn't you buy enough the first time through?" She simply smiled at me and said, "No" as she paid for her purchase. She grabbed the Milk Duds and handed them right back to me and said, "These are for you, I hope you enjoy them." I was so shocked by her act of generosity that I nearly started crying. She told me she appreciated our conversation earlier and could not stop thinking about me as her day carried on. All I could muster to say to her was, "Thank you, I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you did this."
Her generosity was small. Her impact was big. I will never forget what she did for me that day.
What I mean by "generosity in small portions" is:
What is one act the you have down for a person or a person has done for you that has been so small, but yet so big all at the same time?
I have been really lucky to experience this more than once in my life.
In September 2007, my life made a huge change. I was a freshmen in college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Not only was I away from home, at a new school, starting a new phase in my life, but I also had a new job. Seems insignificant to all the other changes in my life, right? I spent the summer working at Wal-Mart close to home before I made my move into the dorms. Luckily, I was able transfer to a Wal-Mart close to school and work on the weekends. At the time, I was thankful to have a job immediately because it was going to save me the effort of searching along with hundreds of other students.
There has never been a job that I have despised as much as I despised this one in my life. This was definitely not even close to being my first job since I had been working at farms since I was in seventh grade. My co-workers were not friendly, I disliked the hours I worked, the job prevented me from going home on the weekends to see my family, and I felt that only 10% of the customers were nice (and no, I am not exaggerating). As a result, the days were long and the pay checks never felt worth it.
On my third weekend of working there, a lady came to my check out lane. She was purchasing a lot of snacks as well as my most favorite candy in the world: Milk Duds. I made a comment about how Milk Duds were my favorite candy. She then told me how her daughter had just started her freshmen year of college in Madison and asked if I was in school. I told her how I was in the same boat as her daughter and had just started myself. She explained to me how she missed her daughter and that she had planned to send her a care package because she was feeling homesick. We talked quite a bit about how I was feeling with college, being away from home, and how I missed my mom for nearly 10 minutes because I had no line of customers at the time. Once she left, I did not think much of the situation, other than the fact that I was thankful to have experienced a kind and caring customer that early in my day.
Nearly four hours later, the store was swamped with customers and it became quite the routine of greeting, sliding purchases across the scanner, and making change for customers. I looked up to greet the next customer in line during an hour rush and it was the woman I chatted with earlier. She was purchasing one box of Milk Duds and I joked and said, "Didn't you buy enough the first time through?" She simply smiled at me and said, "No" as she paid for her purchase. She grabbed the Milk Duds and handed them right back to me and said, "These are for you, I hope you enjoy them." I was so shocked by her act of generosity that I nearly started crying. She told me she appreciated our conversation earlier and could not stop thinking about me as her day carried on. All I could muster to say to her was, "Thank you, I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you did this."
Her generosity was small. Her impact was big. I will never forget what she did for me that day.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
How To Save Money
Before I started college, I used to think being a college student would be the best thing to ever happen to me. While this is a very fun time in life, it is also one of the most stressful times as well. Why? Well...I will give you one word: money. College is expensive, living on your own is expensive, your car is expensive, your cell phone is expensive...okay, I think you get the idea. Life in the real world is expensive.The expense of "life" after high school came to no surprise to me. In fact, I have been putting away money for school since I first got a job in seventh grade. I did not want to have to deal with debt from student loans, and I am hoping that upon my college graduation, I won't have nearly as many loans to pay back as most college graduates do. I will admit, between school, a cell phone, a car, two horses, and expensive taste in clothes...money is something that I feel I do not see a lot of at this time in my life. However, I have mastered a few simple tricks to saving money, and I am just hoping that in the end, I come out in the positives, rather than the negatives with money. Since they have been useful tips for me, I wanted to share them.
1. Save. Save. Save. I know it sounds obvious, but if you save more than you spend, it will only help you in the long run. If you are not in college yet, open up another bank account and put a certain amount of money away from every pay check...and forget it is even there. Even if it is only $10, it can add up fast.
2. Always pay in cash. I bring this up for two reasons. First, it helps with the mentality of "If I don't have the money now, I don't need it." Credit card bills add up ridiculously fast because it feels like you automatically have the money. In reality, you may not really have that money and will have to come up with it instead. But if you start paying in cash it will be more evident if you have the money for something right away or not. Second, with identity theft on the rise with each passing day, you keep yourself at low risk for having your credit card number being visible for all to see. Save your credit card for emergencies only. I am all for building a credit, but not building a debt.
3. Don't go out to eat. I read a statistic last week that stated 45% of money spent on food is from going out to eat. Even with fast food, you can easily spend $7 a meal. That's $35 a week and $140 a month. It adds up quickly. By packing a lunch every day for work or school, you can save a lot of money. I am not saying that you cannot go out to eat at all. Treat yourself in moderation.
4. Have a weekly "social" limit. Limit yourself to spending "x" amount of dollars each week for social activities. It costs a lot of money to go to the movies, go out for a night of fun, go out to eat, etc. If you limit yourself to $20 a week versus $20 a night, you'll save a lot in no time. It may be hard, but you'll appreciate your frugal-ness later in life. Find ways to entertain yourself that do not cost a lot of money, like enjoying public parks or reading books from the library.
5. Don't buy on impulse. Before I make a purchase, I always ask myself: "Do I REALLY need this?" If the answer is no, then I simply just don't buy it. This is an easy task for some, but for most of us, it is just plain hard. Along with going out to eat less, I am not saying don't spend money on yourself, but once again, do it in moderation.
These 5 things may or may not have been obvious tips for you. There are hundreds of ways out there to save money, but for me, these are 5 that make a larger impact on the budget. In the long run, I will be very thankful that I made a constant effort to not spend money each and every time I need to reach for my wallet.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
No Expectations = No Disappointments
Recently, I have learned a profound life lesson and I learned it from two of my fellow co-workers. Last week, literally one day after the other I had one co-worker tell me something and the next day have another co-worker tell me the exact same thing. The funny thing is, each of these two conversations were not remotely similar. What is this profound life lesson? Well, I will tell you. In life, if you have no have expectations, you will never be disappointed. It almost seems quite brash, but I plan to tell you why I feel that this is a great concept to keep in mind and even live by.
Pick an area of your life, work, friends, families, relationships, hobbies, etc.
For now, I will pick work. I work at a hotel and every day when I am on my way to work I think to myself about what kind of day it will be...hard or easy. I usually base my predictions based off of things our head housekeeper or general manager will mention during the day about what tomorrow will be like. If I know that it is going to be a hard day, I do not expect an easy day because if I did, I would automatically set myself up to be disappointed if the day turns out to be tough. With a job like mine that is so physically demanding, it is important to never expect an easy day because then no disappointment will occur. In fact, I often expect every day to be hard because then any sort of amount of rooms seems easy. Plus, when it is a hard or long day, I get more hours which is always nice when the pay check comes.
This simple concept could be applied in many areas of our lives, and I could go on with many different examples. Next time you have an expectation of your job, of a friend, of a family member, of your day, of your work out, or of the weather...eliminate it. That way, when things do not go as expected, you will not be disappointed.
Pick an area of your life, work, friends, families, relationships, hobbies, etc.
For now, I will pick work. I work at a hotel and every day when I am on my way to work I think to myself about what kind of day it will be...hard or easy. I usually base my predictions based off of things our head housekeeper or general manager will mention during the day about what tomorrow will be like. If I know that it is going to be a hard day, I do not expect an easy day because if I did, I would automatically set myself up to be disappointed if the day turns out to be tough. With a job like mine that is so physically demanding, it is important to never expect an easy day because then no disappointment will occur. In fact, I often expect every day to be hard because then any sort of amount of rooms seems easy. Plus, when it is a hard or long day, I get more hours which is always nice when the pay check comes.
This simple concept could be applied in many areas of our lives, and I could go on with many different examples. Next time you have an expectation of your job, of a friend, of a family member, of your day, of your work out, or of the weather...eliminate it. That way, when things do not go as expected, you will not be disappointed.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
17 Again: Getting a Second Chance
It is crazy how much life can change in a year's time. It is crazy how much you can change your mind in just a short period of time. It is crazy just how fast time flies.
Last September, I was 100% certain that I had found my career path. I loved my classes, I loved my school, and I loved the town I was in. I was on my way to what seemed like the perfect life and perfect career. However, around mid October last year, that feeling of 100% certainty disappeared. I did not have a love for all of my classes. Luckily, I still loved my school and where I was located. After a long time spent debating what my next move should be, I decided to not only switch my major, but my school as well. Essentially, I am starting completely over because my previous major and new major are so different.
My life has taken quite a drastic turn in the last month. I went from being a college student who had a job that provided minimal hours allowing me to have tons of free time to moving back home. I now work 2 jobs and put in over 50 hours a week. My free time to do the things that mean the most to me like going to ride my horse, spending time with friends, reading, etc. came to a halt in a matter of a day once I began working. Even though I was not doing much with my time for nearly a whole semester, I loved my life and I was content...despite being at a "standstill" with my future.
I relocated to a very familiar place: home. While I have had this same schedule in the past, it is quite the change of lifestyle compared to the one I had, and it has been a struggle to balance work, friends, horses, family and "me" time.
It would be easy to say that I completely wasted nearly 3 years of my life doing something that was not right for me. When I stop and reminisce about the last 3 years of my life, I cannot feel anything except blessed. I have had experiences and opportunities that few people gain in a lifetime, I have truly grown as a person, and I have made the friends of a lifetime. If given the chance to go back 3 years and start over to what now feels like the "right" decision....well, I would not do it. There is no way I want to eliminate the people, experiences, opportunities, and memories from my mind because they have shaped me into the person I am and helped shaped my future. If I did have the opportunity to do things over I may not be where I am at in life now.
If you have ever seen the movie 17 Again, I feel exactly the way the main character does in the end of the movie (sorry if I spoiled the ending for you). Even though I was not given a second chance like he was, I can be content with the fact that I know I would have lived my life exactly the way I have even if I would have had a glimpse of my future. I am thankful for this peace of mind because it would be easy to feel like I just wasted the last 3 years of my life. However, I know that my life has turned out exactly that way it has needed to and that is perfect.
Last September, I was 100% certain that I had found my career path. I loved my classes, I loved my school, and I loved the town I was in. I was on my way to what seemed like the perfect life and perfect career. However, around mid October last year, that feeling of 100% certainty disappeared. I did not have a love for all of my classes. Luckily, I still loved my school and where I was located. After a long time spent debating what my next move should be, I decided to not only switch my major, but my school as well. Essentially, I am starting completely over because my previous major and new major are so different.
My life has taken quite a drastic turn in the last month. I went from being a college student who had a job that provided minimal hours allowing me to have tons of free time to moving back home. I now work 2 jobs and put in over 50 hours a week. My free time to do the things that mean the most to me like going to ride my horse, spending time with friends, reading, etc. came to a halt in a matter of a day once I began working. Even though I was not doing much with my time for nearly a whole semester, I loved my life and I was content...despite being at a "standstill" with my future.
I relocated to a very familiar place: home. While I have had this same schedule in the past, it is quite the change of lifestyle compared to the one I had, and it has been a struggle to balance work, friends, horses, family and "me" time.
It would be easy to say that I completely wasted nearly 3 years of my life doing something that was not right for me. When I stop and reminisce about the last 3 years of my life, I cannot feel anything except blessed. I have had experiences and opportunities that few people gain in a lifetime, I have truly grown as a person, and I have made the friends of a lifetime. If given the chance to go back 3 years and start over to what now feels like the "right" decision....well, I would not do it. There is no way I want to eliminate the people, experiences, opportunities, and memories from my mind because they have shaped me into the person I am and helped shaped my future. If I did have the opportunity to do things over I may not be where I am at in life now.
If you have ever seen the movie 17 Again, I feel exactly the way the main character does in the end of the movie (sorry if I spoiled the ending for you). Even though I was not given a second chance like he was, I can be content with the fact that I know I would have lived my life exactly the way I have even if I would have had a glimpse of my future. I am thankful for this peace of mind because it would be easy to feel like I just wasted the last 3 years of my life. However, I know that my life has turned out exactly that way it has needed to and that is perfect.
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