There are still nice people out there

Often times it seems like everyone is acting solely for their own benefit. Furthermore, when it comes to the case of a few individuals I've had to spend a lot of time around lately it seems they are completely oblivious to the needs/feelings/concerns of those around them. They are the only ones that matter and the world lives to serve their needs.

Thankfully, a few times this year I've been shown that the future is not completely dark and dismal, that this is not where we're ultimately headed. There are still nice people out there.

Here are just a handful of examples:
A few months ago there was a contest on Soul-Junk's blog, there was a "mashup" of songs posted and whoever guessed the songs it was made of won a cd. After the answers were in I commented that the reason I didn't get them was because most were from CDs I didn't have. Later I got an email saying that the winner wanted to have his CD sent to me! Sure it may not have been something he paid for he, but he certainly earned it and he chose to be generous enough to give it to me, someone he doesn't even know! I tried to email him to thank him, but the emails kept getting sent back. So if you happen to ever read this, thank you (I think his name was Dustin?), it's truly appreciated, not just the CD itself, but the fact that someone would do this!

When a posted on my blog about my health problems and then my diagnosis and side effects I'm always overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers and kind words. Most of my readers I have never met in person and only talk to a couple online semi-regularly. Though I may not always reply back, your prayers and words are always appreciated and do their part in lifting me up right when I need it.

Though I haven't taken much advantage of it yet (need to get my film developed!), I'd been wanting a pro account on Flickr for quite some time, but couldn't bring myself to spend the money when I have so many other costs coming at me right now and had no luck finding a job this semester (hopefully next semester I'll get a work-study job), David (Sketchism) bought one for me! While he and I have never met in person we've known each other online since he first messaged me on virb° when it was still fairly new. I always enjoy chatting with David even if it's just a quick "how are you?" and this gift is greatly appreciated.

I've also had the fortune of understanding from others. I've never been the kind of person to tell people like professors what's going on in my life, I've had a "why should they care?" mentality about it in the past. However, after speaking with a couple professors about the possibility of dropping classes and only revealing a small snippet of what was going on I was surprised by their willingness to help and work something out. When I was considering dropping all of my classes, which would make me have to pay back all of my financial aid, one prof. was willing to let me not come to class and just send in my work so I wouldn't have to drop it. While I'm still having a hard time keeping up with my school work and am actually hoping for an incomplete in that class, it's still appreciated and it's great to know that there are still people who care.

So when it seems like nothing is going your way and everyone is working against you out of selfishness, please remember there are still some nice people out there. Maybe you can even think of something considerate and selfless someone has done for you lately. We should all try to dwell on these kinds of things instead of the negative, because while the negative may be greater in number the positive are greater in quality, meaning, and in heart.