Joy comes in small packages

Joy comes in small packages
Sophomore shows love through the warm gift of hugs
By: Tiffany Wangui (Grade 10)

April 12, 2019–If you could describe yourself in one word what would it be? For Helen Serrano, a caring individual and a fellow classmate (10th grade), that word would be loving. According to her, she finds joy in seeing others happy and believes that something as simple as a hug is all it takes to make someone smile. This is because it is hard to tell what struggles someone may be facing so giving a hug to someone who might need it can be comforting and have a positive impact. Not only that, it is also just a positive outreach in general.

When asked what she’s passionate about, Helen answers simply spreading love to others. “I just love giving people love and attention… I love helping people”, she says. Showing love and affection to her is very important because it assures others that you care for those around you. This, as a result, creates a more kinder and better environment for others. Because of this, she values showing care towards others.

As Helen does enjoy giving out love to others, she also likes receiving affection from others as well. Though she holds that she’s independent, she takes deep appreciation when shown that she is cared for. “I just love people showering me with love and attention”. It makes me feel special, she adds. For her, it doesn’t take much to feel cared for. Uninvolved Questions like “how was your day” or “how are you doing” go a long way.

When asked what she’d like to be known for, Helen suggests her friendly nature and will to help others. And her way of doing so includes talking to those around her, listening to them, as well as empathizing with them. According to Helen, this is important because “everyone deserves to be happy and have someone to feel comfortable around.”

To conclude, Helen enjoys showing love to others in the best ways she can. She claims that it can be a learning experience. “It opens your mind, she states, “because through it, you can learn a lot about a person and even learn from them which I think is very important”. The importance being that it allows for a new and deeper understanding of a person rather than judgment by simply what what is presented. Not only that, it can also impact you in your own life by providing new ideas and outlooks on things you may have viewed differently before.