i made a girl cry last night.

and it was awesome.

my twitter/facebook status before i went to bed last night was “the little things are what matter most. everyone can do the normal things, but it’s the small stuff that people really remember.” that’s something people that know me have heard me say over and over and it’s sort of the way i live my life.

earlier i saw a friend of mine that i hadn’t seen since may. i hadn’t talked to her much this summer either. the first thing i did when i saw her was give her a hug but i was busy so i didn’t get to talk to her much. as the night went on i talked to her a little more. we were in a big group and a lot of us hadn’t seen each other in a while so we were all catching up with each other.

while we were sitting there, i just happened to say, “hey, i’ve got something at the house for you. i’ll bring it by sometime.”

she didn’t know what i was talking about. she really had no clue.

after we all left the restaurant, i ran by my house and picked up the “something” and drove back to campus. i called her when i got to her dorm (she didn’t know i was coming back) and told her to come downstairs. when i gave her the something she was excited and as we sat there, she said that i was going to make her cry.

i thought she was joking.

well, she wasn’t. and i loved it.

it wasn’t much, but it was something i knew she would like and knew it would actually mean something. she texted me later in the night and said that it had made her night.

anyone can do the normal. it’s the small stuff that people remember.

tonight, while i’m sitting down finishing up some stuff for work, i get a text message from this same girl asking what i was doing. after i told her i was finishing up work she sent me something back that said “would you like to go to coldstone with me…i’ll pay.”

uh, heck yeah i’ll go to coldstone. it’s free ice cream.

she didn’t have to ask me to go. she could’ve asked a hundred other people if they wanted to go with her. she could’ve went by herself. but she asked me to go. and that twenty minutes that it took to pick her up on campus, drive to coldstone, eat our ice cream, and go back to campus was quite possibly the highlight of the day.

anyone can do the normal. it’s the small stuff that people remember.

before i started dating my ex, when we were still in that “talking” stage (or whatever the cool kids call it this week), i knew there were a couple of different ways that i could go about trying to get her to like me. i knew that compliments didn’t hurt.

one thing you need to know is that my ex has gorgeous eyes. they’re just really really pretty. ask anyone that has met her or seen a picture of her and they’ll tell you the exact same. the thing is, everyone knows that. and everyone tells her that.

i wanted to stick out from everyone.

so i never complimented her on her eyes. i found something else and complimented her for that. she used to say that she actually gave me a shot because i didn’t compliment her eyes like everyone else does.

anyone can do the normal. it’s the small stuff that people remember.

last week i was in the middle of a crazy day. i was following around one of our football players filming everything he did during the day for our website. i had been up since probably 6:45 that morning and it was now about 8:15 at night. i was dead tired and wanted to go home and go to bed. as i’m standing on the sidelines watching practice, i hear my phone in my pocket. i had a text message.

“just thinking of you! :)”

that’s all it said. completely out of the blue. completely random.

and it was completely awesome.

she didn’t have to text me. i think of all kinds of people throughout the day and don’t text them to tell them. but she sent something to say that. and it made my day better.

it made me smile.

anyone can do the normal. it’s the small stuff that people remember.

i could go on and on about the little things i’ve tried to do for people or the little things that people have done for me. like the time two friends bought me a pair of flip flops for my birthday because mine had broken earlier that day during a football game. or the time a friend bought me dinner because he had extra money on a gift certificate. or the time i saw a professor for the first time in months and he asked me about something i had asked him to pray about those months earlier. there are all kinds of stories like that.

it’s because anyone can do the normal but it’s the small stuff that people remember.

if you want to make a difference in someone’s life, do something that’s not normal. show up at their dorm with a milkshake or their office with a cup of coffee. text them and let em know that you’re thinking about them sometime. just show them that you love them. it’s amazing the chain reaction you can start when you just act like you love one person.

don’t be normal.

that’s boring.

say your prayers and take your vitamins.

have a nice day.

-jonathan