You give what you get - maybe you’ve heard this quote before. It’s an album by Zac Brown Band, it’s a song by New Radicals (absolutely a summer jam) and I’ve seen it pop up on Pinterest and Tumblr numerous times. Most importantly, it used to be a quote that I lived by. Maybe it was because of all of the places I’ve seen the quote or maybe it’s because I was obsessed with the song the New Radicals sang. But the quote was forever implanted in my mind and was found on my bio on every social media account that I had. It wasn’t until the whirlwind of events that formed my 2016, that I realized that this quote is incredibly wrong.

All over social media, I’ve seen tweets, Facebook posts, pictures and so on about how much people disliked the year of 2016. To be honest, I can completely agree with them on the start of my 2016. Would I ever want to relive those events that took place? Nope. I wouldn’t even wish them on the devil himself. But those events are the start of something that made me realize so much more - how important it is to give.

But what exactly does it mean to give? I think everyone has a different definition of what it means to "give". I think "to give," means putting others before yourself without out expecting a reward in return. To help someone out, whether it be driving someone to class or even holding the door open for them. I personally think it's most important to give random acts of kindness, even when the last thing you want to do is be kind. ( don't lie you've all been in those moods.)

Giving in the world we live in today can seem kind of hard. Impulsively, you put your needs before others and trust me when I say, I fall victim to this more than I would like. It’s practically human nature to try and cover your needs before you take care of anyone else’s. Even Charles Darwin touched upon it his “Darwinism” theory. And most of the time, we all live like that, trying to survive whatever the world throws at us and trying to make every situation have the easiest and best outcome possible.

Well if 2016 taught me anything, it’s that situations, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much of an optimistic look you have on them, just don’t turn out the way you expect. And the results of those situations end up taking our path that we had for our life, and forcing it in a different direction. And that can make a person unbelievably frustrated.

But sometimes, with the frustration and anger that comes from that new path that you’re forced to pave for yourself, comes hostility and a funk that seems to consumes your attitude. You seem less open to the idea of helping others because you have the thought of “why should I, if I can’t even help myself?” It is in those situations when I realized it is the most important to put others before yourself.

Giving always, conditionally and without asking questions nor expecting anything in return is an action that is incredibly hard to do. And it took me the summer of 2016 to learn that putting others needs before your own is so incredibly rewarding.

So in the later part of 2016, I tried my hardest to implement into my life what I learned throughout the summer. And I can honestly say that it made life seem better. It was a reward within it self to know that you went out of your way to help someone.

It's a bold and cheesy statement to say, that it truly changes your perspective on life. But it's true. So do yourself a favor an make 2017 a year of giving. Give often and will a full heart and watch it make a difference in your life.