Hi.

My daughter says hi to everyone.

She does not discriminate. Hi to the random kid at the playground. Hi to the homeless dude. Hi to me over and over and over again. Hi to the dogs. Hi to the strangers on the beach path that don’t speak english.

Hi.

She doesn’t care if they say hi back. She just keeps saying hi.

She doesn’t care if they give her a weird look or run away. She just keeps saying hi.

Because this is just who she is.

She is friendly and warm and chatty.

Regardless of who other people are she just keeps being who she is.

So I am like what if I could be like this?

What if I could just all the time be myself no matter how other people will respond or how I think they will respond?

So every time she says hi it is this most beautiful reminder that we all get to be who we are no matter what.

And for those of us that have been conditioned to tiptoe around “other people” this being-ourselves-thing takes major courage.

But if a one year old can do it, we can too.