When you pass a student in the hall that you don’t know, you probably say nothing, right? That’s because you don’t know them. But, what if you said hi?

Have you ever created a new friendship by just saying hi? Why is there meaning in that small word?

“People like to connect with other people and I think that’s why people say hi, hello, or good morning to each other as they pass in the halls or even in the streets,” said Joe, Day Creek’s cafeteria manager.

Sometimes we’re in a zone and we forget that others are all around us.  Can’t you do better than just walking past them?

“I think [saying hi]]just means that you’re able to recognize that there are people around [us], and that people have feelings, and want to be respected and recognized. The meaning behind those words is just a simple way of noticing and recognizing that someone’s there. It kind of gets us out of that selfish mode that so many people are in all the time,” said Mr. Carson.

A hello makes it personal, because we are saying that people matter and that we matter too because we have an ability to brighten someone’s day..  

“I think a greeting is important because it makes a connection with another person on campus. I try to call students by their name because if [I] make a personal connection, they feel more comfortable and welcomed and it makes more of a sense of community,” said Mr. Carson.

So, now that you know what hi can do, use it more. When you see someone not having the best day, greet them. Make sure, to say hi to people throughout the day, down the hall, in the lunch room, whenever, wherever. . Set a daily goal to try and say hi to at least five people you don’t really know each day. With this, you can make Day Creek a better place to be. Go test-run your power of hi.