Born to Love
February 10, 2023
Author: Delaney Brown
Editor: Ava Tomlin
I look forward to the holiday season for several reasons every year, but going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit is undoubtedly one of my favorite family traditions. People line the streets wearing multiple layers of clothing, smiling faces, and hot chocolate in their hands. The city is buzzing with gratitude and excitement; you can’t help but feel blessed to be surrounded by people coming together to celebrate the giving season.
At one point in the parade, the streets flood with people dressed up as clowns and other fun outfits to throw beaded necklaces out to the crowd. By the end of it, your neck is decorated with a rainbow of necklaces. The simplest gesture fills everyone with so much joy.
This past year at the parade, my eyes scanned the crowd until I noticed two little boys next to me. One stood a few inches taller than the other, they were of different races; one of them had grandparents with them, and the other had just their father with him. But above all, they had the same caring look in their eyes. I watched as they counted each other’s necklaces, using their tiny hands to sift through the beads hanging on a newly met stranger’s neck. When the two boys realized they didn’t have the same amount, they both exchanged some of their own to ensure they were equal. They traded until each of them were wearing their own favorite colors. They had just met at this moment, but both of them wanted to make sure the other was happy.
Not only were they exchanging beads, but they were exchanging conversation about their favorite floats and telling each other “Happy Thanksgiving!” Besides the cuteness overload of watching the young boys have a sweet, friendly interaction with each other, I also had a revelation that this was a prime example of how we need to tap into our innocent and loving inner child more often. When we are little, we have no judgment or negativity about the world and the people around us. We must ground and remind ourselves to return to that child-like state of being receptive and loving to those around us.
As college students, it is easy to be overwhelmed and intimidated by the start of a new semester with all new people. However, differences aside–or rather embraced–there is so much value in interacting with the people around us. In one of my classes last semester, we all put effort into making sure we got to know each other given it was a small class. Now, I have multiple people I met from that class in my classes this semester, and our familiarization with each other last semester gave us the chance to start a stronger bond the second time around. You really never know who your next friend could be or what you could learn from them. You don’t need a reason to do an act of kindness for a stranger or to practice patience with those around you. At the end of the day, we are all just trying to navigate life for the first time.
For kids who haven’t been exposed to the world’s cruelty, everything is full of love. They love their family, teachers, and even strangers. The purest and happiest stage of life is the same time that we have the most love to give. So let this story serve as a reminder: Give out some of that precious love that you have inside of you. The world is a better place when more love is circulating in it!
