On the days of January 8 and January 9, 16 year old Maritza Vazquez was taking time out of her day to brighten others’. This was not an uncommon thing for Vazquez, who often found herself, a caring, empathetic, and understanding person, stretching herself for the sake of others. Vazquez does her best to help and does nothing short of what she can to make people feel good. For example, Vazquez translates all of her social media posts and stories into both Spanish and English to be as inclusive as possible. 

Vazquez put up a poll on her Instagram on the evening of January 8 not expecting much, but the result blew her away. The poll had an emoji that you drag to one side depending on how you are feeling. Vazquez reached out to pretty much everyone who responded except those who slid it all the way full. She reached out to a total of 8 people all of whom responded with grace. Vazquez was very specific to show her intention was not to upset people or make them uncomfortable in any way. She was letting them know they had someone on their side and she was there to listen if they ever needed it. 

“I felt happy that they were able to talk a little bit about what they wanted to if they were willing to share,” sophomore Maritza Vazquez said.
Although Vazquez has reached out to see how friends are doing over text messages, reaching out over social media was new. She plans to do this more often because of the positive results she got. 

”They were all very nice with their responses,” Vazquez said.

This was a step for Vazquez because she reached out to everyone who had somewhat low scores, including acquaintances and people she did not talk to that often. However, Vazquez knows that if she was not feeling well, she would appreciate it if someone looked out for her, even if they were not close friends. 

“I personally think that it is a good thing to talk about whatever is on your mind instead of just keeping it all inside,” Vazquez said.

Vazquez knows people have bad days, she has them herself, but she enjoys doing whatever she can to help people, especially on those days. It is important to do things that have a positive impact, even when going through difficult situations.

“Some things that help me with my bad days are usually time, music, and talking to others if there is something bothering me or if I just want to let something out,” Vazquez said.

However, bad days do not come alone. Good days and good times are always around the corner even if it is not in sight yet. 

“It’s not easy, but we should look on the positive side, we should look to do what’s best for us, and we should look at the beauty in the world around us,” Vazquez said.

Life can be hard, but it can be beneficial to both parties if you spend some time reaching out to others and being the best friend and person you can be.