When I was seventeen I thought I was dying and consequently swore to God to go help street children if I survived. I made this promise as I hadn't had a great childhood -- it was a childhood where I'd lost both my mom and most of my self-confidence due to bullies, but I'd always had family who loved me and a roof over my head. I realized, in Vancouver where I was at the time, feeling very lonely, that some children don't even have that.
Thirteen years later I set off to fulfill my promise. Living as a gypsy, traveling my whole adult life, and experiencing the difficulties of life, often on my own, I have also come to realize the value of community. It's not easy being away from friends and loved ones, especially when something goes wrong. Helping to raise kids here and dealing with a ton of stuff in the township you have no idea how many times I've longed for my family, or some of my close friends who live in other countries.
This Christmas I gave three kids from the township their first Christmas morning with gifts. It was a dream come true for me to be able to do that.
I'm here to help transform a community, but this year I've also decided to build a community around me. I have a global community of friends (and an extended network thanks to social media), but I also need community in the two towns where I spend the most time -- Los Angeles and Cape Town. Together with spending more time on myself (as opposed to work), realizing creative projects and blogging more for the Huff Post, that's my New Year's resolution: community.
Just because the holiday season is over doesn't mean the season of giving gifts need to be over. We can give to our community; to family, friends, colleagues and neighbors, every day of the year. And what we reap in return is priceless -- people who will be there to share in the good time and support us through the bad times.
Below you find a list of some of my favorite things when it comes to random acts of kindness for your community, including friends and family.
- Compliment someone. A few years back myself and my best friend decided to send each other one compliment a day for a month. By the end of it you have a list of 30 things someone likes about you. If you do it with two people you have 60.
More than anything? Choose to do what you love. Community work should be a joy, not a chore.