It is so easy to get sucked into our own lives our own issues, and our own desires. As students we come back to school from busy summers, whether it was filled with long work shifts or fun summer excursions.

We come from our homes, where often we are not surrounded by as many people and are not sharing a living space with 30 or so other students to a wing. The end of the summer and the beginning of a new semester is a transition period for everyone.

From freshmen who come in unsure of what to expect or what to do outside of their set class schedule, to the veterans who have been going here for at least a couple of years and start back full swing, planning general interest meetings for different organizations, planning appointments to meet with professors and advisors. These are among the many activities we as college students are involved in.

Being busy can be fun. You get a taste of so many different activities and the chance to explore so many interests. That does not mean it should become an excuse to be so self-consumed that we fail to appreciate or think about what others may be going through and struggling with.

In the world around us and in our own communities, large or small, we are surrounded by people that we often do not even take a moment to smile. We see on the news the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. We see updates around the world of people facing war, famine and social injustices.

Yet we still focus inwardly, being bitter that things in our lives are not working out the way that we want them to. We get annoyed and angry with our peers over insignificant things. We spend our days surrounded by hate, negativity and distrust. It is easy to fall prey to these emotions, but it does not make for a happy life.

As this semester begins make an effort to smile at those you pass walking to class, even on those days when the wind is so strong you feel as though it may blow you away.

When we go a little bit out of our way to spread cheer and happiness it may provide someone with a little bit of joy who may really have needed it. All of us have stressful days and busy lives, but when we take a little bit of our time to go out of the way for someone it starts a chain reaction of help and happiness that can make a world of difference in a single life.

You do not change the world in one day. You may not even be able to change it in one million days. If everyone made the decision to take a pause from their own personal negativities and did something positive, the terror that we see on the news will not be the only thing that people think about.

Hope is a powerful thing and it is important to help those around us in any way that we can, no matter how large or small, because people need a little bit of help everywhere.