Hallway Traffic Violations

     I don't care where you go to school, if it's high school or college, or where you work; we are all guilty of a hallway traffic violation at some point in our lives. In this post, I am going to use SMSU as an example, because it is where I see it day after day. 

       At a college with 3,600 students, we have all most likely heard of one another, seen each other at a sporting event, in the student center at lunch, or walking through the halls. Knowing this many people, wouldn't you think it would be normal to see everyone greeting each other in the hall with a simple hello, wave, or smile? This is not always the case.  

       When I walk to my classes I usually see a handful of friends, maybe a co-worker or two, professors, people from my hometown, a super friendly janitor*, numerous acquaintances, and then people I do not know at all. While I would like to greet everyone in some way, I don't. I sometimes dread walking to class knowing I am going to have to walk by several people who will do everything in their power not to look at me, and at times I will do the same. Let me give you the top 4 scenarios:

1. "Oh, I have phone call. I should pick it up and talk to the ghost on the other side instead of saying hi to the person I do not know walking past me." *It's so much easier having a fake conversation I guess.

2. "Hmmm, what is on the floor (sometimes ceiling) today?" *Wouldn’t you rather look at a face?

3. "Maybe if I walk fast and look straight ahead I can get away with not saying anything." *You can't.

4. "Oh no she just smiled at me. Look away and just ignore, she won't notice." *Would smiling back kill you?"

     I have been on both sides of this, and neither is fun, especially being on the receiving end. Something I think we all need to remember is that we don’t know what people are going through in their lives and a smile can make a huge difference. I can think of several times I have walked through the halls of SMSU, was greeted, and it made me feel so much better. A kind acknowledgement can go a long way. We may never know how much it will mean, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing it anyway.

     I challenge all of you reading this to say hello to a stranger in the halls of SMSU, at work, the grocery store, the bike trail, wherever you go. You never know who you will meet, or the impact you will have. I believe we can make the world a bit brighter and happier place by doing this each and everyday. 

Footnote:

*The members of the SMSU cleaning and maintenance staff are some of the friendliest people you will meet. They greet everyone with a cheery hello and smile. We could all learn from these amazing people.