Let's be good. Just for one day. On January 14th, Wednesday -- the day after tomorrow -- we're all going to be really good to each other. Is it possible? I think so. This Wednesday will be Nice Day.
Wednesday morning, when we take a shower, we're going to make it quick. We'll have plenty of time before class, but we'll want to make sure the next person does too. When we're paying for our morning coffee, we're gonna say "Thank you."
Later, when we're sitting in class we'll try not to snore if we fall asleep. And when the prof is ending the lecture, we're actually going to let him finish before packing our bags. And later in the day, we're going to turn our stereos down -- just so our neighbors can study. It's going to be incredible.
Yeah, this Wednesday we're going to be real considerate of each other. Hell, we're even going to be considerate at the public blitz terminals! We're going to burn incense with our windows open. We'll clean our tables after dinner. And our coats too -- as we leave West Side Buffet, we're not going to be hiding a dozn milk cartons and oranges. We're not even going to think about pissing on the toilet seat. That's right -- this Wednesday we're going all out nice. Crazy nice. Not-slamming-our-doors-late-at-night nice.
Some people won't know what we're up to, and they're going to be completely lost. The guy in the shower will have no idea what made us get out in such a hurry. The cashier at Collis -- she'll probably get tired of saying "You're welcome." Our prof will actually think we care about what he says. The person behind us in the blitz line will think we didn't get any. For lack of noise and incense our hallmates will actually be able to study in their rooms -- Baker Reserve will be empty. Everything will be so strange.
If enough of us do this, some of the uninitiated will start to think we're actually doing this for them -- like it's their birthday and they forgot. Hundreds of people will be going around campus murmuring "Why is everyone so darn nice to me today?" None of them will know. But we will.
If it works really well perhaps we'll do the same thing on Thursday and then Friday too. We're going to turn everything upside down. We're going to show so much consideration to those around us that they simply won't know what to do. Maybe they'll return the same?
It could be that by Friday everyone will be feeling like it's their birthday. Everyone. All the unexpected attention we'll lavish upon one an other will just multiply. And there will be no use saying: "OK, today is a perfectly normal day. You don't have to be nice anymore; you can stop now," because people won't want to stop. They'll be enjoying themselves too much.
And when visitors come to campus and see that in some subtle way we all seem to care for each other, they'll have no idea why. They'll wonder where all the good will came from. They won't have the slightest clue.
But we'll know it all started with just one day. It was a day of nothings and don't-mention-its. We threw in some politeness, a little consideration, a dash of respect. And slowly, day by day, person by person, it ended with this warm, wonderful thing we'll call -- Community.
