HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
In the high likelihood that today is not your birthday…I’m really sorry. I hope it’s your birthday soon. But if you think about it, does it really matter? We count the days until we complete another 584 million mile journey around the sun. We throw a party for the simple act of existing. So why wait? You exist today, don’t you? That is worth something, maybe even a celebration.
This idea, celebrating every day, is exactly the spirit behind one of this year’s most creative Peer projects.
“The idea for my [project] came before the school year even started,” says Dylan Bowles, one of the project’s organizers.
Dylan and his fellow Peer, Sueda Uctuk, sponsored this project after wanting to do something different. Something fun and uplifting. This is how they landed on the idea to celebrate national holidays.
“There are so many weird ones,” Dylan says. “And we thought it would be fun for the Peers to pick out a few and celebrate what the day was. That way, everyone can have some fun.”
Already this year, they have celebrated a handful of unique holidays. On National Coffee with a Cop Day, Dylan sat down with Rocky’s School Resource Officer, Officer Caine, for an interview which aired on RMHStv. On National Creamsicle Day, which coincided with the first day of school, they planned to hand out creamsicles.
“We couldn’t for the life of us find creamsicles to hand out so we handed out Otter Pops to people over lunch.”
It was a hit, and the Peers handed out four hundred Otter Pops.
This is just the start of what they call “Hype Cart Holidays.” Dylan and Sueda plan to periodically celebrate holidays by wheeling around a cart full of treats, toys, activities – whatever matches that day’s holiday. It might be something big or something small. Either way it is the act of spreading a bit of joy that counts.
“I think it perpetuates my most favorite part about Rocky. You don’t know what’s going to happen the next day, every day.”
And that is the point. This Peer project is about embracing every moment, and appreciating the little things. Even if it isn’t a national holiday, there is still always a reason to celebrate.
You don’t have to be a Peer to celebrate every day. You could celebrate a friend, an accomplishment, or something completely random. It could be something big or something small. What matters is your celebration. After all, you made it through another day on earth’s spinning journey flying through space. Isn’t that enough of a reason to celebrate?
