Let me preface this with: I promise not to be a Debbie Downer despite this doozy of a first sentence…

Since my aunt passed in January, I’ve been trying to seriously evaluate some things. Said things have run the gamut–from appreciating my wonderful husband to enjoying more time outdoors. But perhaps one of the most influential things has been making a concerted effort to stay in touch with people I genuinely like.

You’ll meet thousands of people over the course of your existence. The question is: will they be better because they met you? In a world of Twitter, Facebook, fast food and online-shopping, it is a piece of cake to be anonymous. We can leave work, ‘Like’ our ‘friends’ (read: acquaintances) statuses via a mobile device, and pick-up food at a drive-thru window made by people we’ve never actually met. So empty.

With that in mind, I’ve challenged myself to put more value on the people around me. Can I brighten a cashier’s day? Drop a friend a note just to say ‘hello’ when they pop into my head? What about spending a night out with friends celebrating a boring Thursday?

Let me tell you, it’s quickly changing my life for the better! In the past couple of months, Twitter friends have turned into fabulous pen pals, I’ve reconnected with people I haven’t talked to in years, and I’ve found myself talking about how crazy life is with the girl at the spa and the cashier at Target. We’ve been spending more time out to dinner and traveling to see our best friends. An added bonus? I find that as I concentrate more on the people I really like, the people that drive me crazy just aren’t as important anymore–& this is coming from the cynic who loves to nitpick.

So I hope that this little lesson that I’ve learned can perhaps serve as a challenge to you. Go like people! Care about them. Genuinely take interest in their lives. It’ll rock your world for the better. I promise!