Welcome!

Holding a door. It's the first example people give of a small act of kindness you can do every day. It's nice for the person for whom you're holding it -- they don't have to pull out their prox card, they feel that they are seen by the people around them, and they can strut through a door without opening it like the kings of olde. And it's nice for you, holding it -- you feel a little better about yourself and the world, you get an extra smile you can keep in your pocket all day, and you can make fun of your friends for forgetting their prox cards*. Isn't that worth a few extra seconds of an effort you're making for yourself anyway? (If any of you have seen Ted Lasso, I'm remembering of the scene where Ted holds a door for like thirty seconds, waiting for Rebecca to reach it and walk through. Of course, Rebecca, the lion that she is, doesn't hurry, but I personally feel the pressure to sprint through a door even if someone's only been holding it for one second. So, you know, one can go too far. But I like to think that moment brightened both of their days a little, like it did mine. Okay, back to the point.)

Nowadays, though, when I'm late for class or tired from the day or what-have-you, I find myself increasingly doing that thing where you enter and reach back and push the door open behind you for a person to pull the rest of the way or sneak through the crack. While that's still nice (and better than pretending you don't see that person a few paces behind you and just walking through. Which I've certainly never done. Heh.), it's a much more passive version of the original door-hold. And, in a lot of cases, it's even more physically awkward.

So my goal for the next seven weeks, no matter how late or tired I am, is to hold a door open properly for someone at least once a week. I will look them in their eyes, smile to let them know it's no trouble, and give us both a little extra boost for the day and a little extra faith in the world. And I'll let y'all know if they thanked me, or walked through without a word, or slapped me in the face. And I will be using names. Just kidding. But hopefully, after focusing on this specific act of kindness for a few weeks, I will no longer have to focus on it; it will become habit to lend a hand and share a nice moment with a person passing by. After all, as they say, love is an open door.

*Remember not to hold Uni doors open to strangers, though! No matter how much your moral compass/social-awkwardness-meter tells you to!