giving good blog.

as the ever-wise catherine connors (herbadmother) explains it:
give good blog:

noun. 1. a commitment, made by online writers and other participants in virtual communities, to principles of good virtual citizenship and to actions reflecting same; a commitment to the use of social media to advance social good, whether by raising awareness of a specific issue, or raising money for a cause, or simply using blogs and/or other social media platform to remind self and others to strive to make some little difference by whatever means available.

verb. 1. online activities that adhere to and reflect this commitment.

i won't kid myself into thinking that my blog is read often and by people outside my circle of friends and family. but someday, maybe, it will be. (because let's all be honest - life as a 1L can be pretty hilarious. and utterly awful. it makes for good stories, anyhow.) regardless of my readership (or lack thereof), it doesn't mean that i shouldn't give good blog. let's be honest. we're stampeding ahead to 2010. the holiday season is drawing close. (don't get me started on the fact that i went to macy's the other day and they ALREADY had christmas decorations up. i celebrate christmas and i find it an affront to my moral fortitude. and good taste. it's not even halloween, people. let's slooooow down.) it's time to really focus on what matters. we americans will have thanksgiving. then christmas (or hanukkah or kwanzaa or solstice or any other number of celebrations about hope, renewal, and faith). then new year's. and then we'll be flung back in to a january where we resume our lives. so we should pause, for just a moment, to think about what other people might need this time of year.

in my contracts class, my professor suggested that we take any of our older/ too small/ too big/ not so fond of winter wear to a local charity that will ensure that the homeless are equipped for milwaukee's winter. such a simple, simple act. yet we forget.

when my brother and i are were small, we had to prepare for christmas. after all, everything that santa brought us consisted of toys and games and dolls (even for my brother thanks to my parents' awesomeness!). so we went through all of our toys and games and dolls and decided what we didn't play with anymore. we made sure they had all the parts and were clean and nice and took them to family shelter. what's more, even when my parents struggled to give us the most magical christmas, they made sure we could take toys into school to donate to our class' adopted family. often, we fo und that picking out toys for other kids was just as, if not more, fun than getting our own. (again, parents = awesome.)

of course, i lay no claim to not falling straight into the delicious, fragrant trap of consumerism. i have lots of stuff. i love clothes too much. and i have a weakness for vintage and handmade home decor (hello, etsy.com!).

but i've also found that the simplest, easiest thing you can ever do is to smile. i smile at every person i pass. in the halls, on the street. every single one. and you know what? 98% of the time they smile right back at me. for me, it's a reminder of humanity and connectedness. it's my own little manifestation of spirituali ty. and i hope for those people that it's a reminder that even as our lives seem so remote, so far away from a s tranger's, that they're not.

it's not a bi g thing. it's not anything i could put on my resumé. but it's simple. and small. and the smallest things can, added all together, make an actual difference.