@Joseph_Gomes

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Pay it Forward

A few weeks ago I realized something that's a little disconcerting & yet at the same time also quite understandable. We live in a world where kindness, just for the sake of being thoughtful or kindhearted, is met with such trepidation, skepticism & concern that it is almost something of the unexpected.

For one to partake in a kindly act there must surely be an ulterior motive. Right? Perhaps this feeling, (or defense mechanism of sorts) has some sort of tribal genesis, rooted in a survivalist social order theory. Perhaps I'll bring this up the next time I have a chat with a behavioral psychologist....but I digress.

As a future physician, my innate disposition is one that is "other" focused; driven by the service of & compassion for others. That certainly doesn't make me a "good" person by any means, but that's just who I am. In fact it took me a long time to realize that even in my most earnest & sincere attempts to help people (friends, family, even strangers), that some folks just do not want to be helped. And that's okay. But me, I find pleasure in helping others. That's my "thing", my "gimmick" (a little esoteric joke for my wrestling family) so to speak.

A few weeks ago I began a Twitter initiative that I dubbed #PreMedGiveAways. Whereby I have pledged to select (at random) one of my Twitter followers each week, with a promise to send that person - free of charge, a pre-med resource of my choosing. The funny thing is, that the concept of sending a complete stranger a free gift (at your own expense no less), no strings attached, is sort of a strange idea.

I've shared my recent spirit of giving with a few people & invariably, each person's response has been "why" or met with such cynicism & disapproval that it struck me as odd. For my response to them is: why the hell not?

Perhaps there's some merit to their skeptical inquiries, but it's too bad that I feel like I'm setting off people's "Creeper Alerts" here. Ala: **WARNING WARNING** CREEPER spotted on Twitter, giving away free shit, WARNING, WARNING! Lol. I seriously feel that way at times. Especially considering that the majority of my pre-med followers are attractive young women & I'm approaching them unabashedly on Twitter with my promise to send them free merchandise. All they have to do is "follow" me. Yeah - by my own admission, I sound like a creeper! I can assure all of them however, I am a HAPPILY married man & my intentions are strictly of a platonic nature.

Irrespective of my mixed feelings on the matter, I am now enjoying the third consecutive week of this little #PreMedGiveAway venture & I've quite enjoyed myself. Although, in truth I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep it up as my "stash" is quickly dwindling. Perhaps a pre-med prep group will catch wind of my little endeavor & will be so kind as to donate a few items to the cause. And if not, I still have at least a few more weeks worth of goods to share & if nothing else, I hope this little season of generosity has touched someone's life (perhaps you - as you read this now) & at least has in some way, helped brighten your/their day. For more information on my pre-med give aways, follow me on Twitter @Joseph_Gomes.

I'm gonna sign off for now, but I hope to share a rather interesting topic with you all very soon.

-Joe