Free Hugs, Compliments, and Popsicles – Spreading Joy
Free Hugs, Compliments, and Popsicles – Spreading Joy
Deidre Daniel
When we started our project at first it
seemed kind of silly, and I wasn’t sure that it would be very successful. I was
concerned that given the weather and how strange we were that people would not
accept hugs or popsicles. However as soon as I rolled into the building with a
cooler and we had our signs there were participants.
There were more hugs shared than
anything, and not just from Mason. Even though he was the designated “Free
Hugs” distributor, participants would also ask to hug me and there were a few
group hugs with all three members of our group and participants. Perhaps they
were touched by my offering of free popsicles.
Zach gave several compliments, but it
seems like most people misinterpreted his sign and thought they were to give
him compliments; he received quite a few over the course of our experiment. I
feel like passersby were a little less comfortable asking for a compliment than
for something like a hug or a Popsicle. He ended up giving a lot of hugs too.
We used my popsicles as a gauge for when
it was time to stop; when I ran out we’d pack up and leave. They went fairly
quickly, each excursion only lasting about an hour and a half. Despite the
drizzle and bit of chill plenty of people opted to take a Popsicle.
It was an exhilarating experience to
make so many people so happy over that short amount of time. Most of the time,
people that didn’t accept any gift still walked away from us smiling and there
were only a few that ignored us completely. We were mentioned on YikYak, and
people that knew us from the first day came back for the second day, with their
friends. I guess between the weather and the end of semester crunch, people
really needed something to brighten their day.
Mason Brennenstuhl
In day to day life it is hardly ever the big things that will
make you say to a friend. “You won’t guess what is saw today.” Our installation
was meant to give people something to talk about, something to smile about. I
feel that if you can make someone say, that made my day, you have done
something truly worthwhile. Everyday can but unfortunately hardly ever is
interesting. It’s always amazes me how easy it is to make any day better,
although most are unwilling to go against the social norm to do it. Everyone
can make the mundane special, I’m just doing my part.
Zack Plocica
Simple act of giving out a free hug, Popsicle or complement can make
someone’s day. And that was the our goal well doing this, to see how much joy
we could spread and how many people would stop to interact with us. During the
course of us giving free hugs we noticed even if they didn’t stop a lot of
people still smiled as they passed so even if they didn’t want to interact with
us we were still making them happy. And when someone stopped for a hug or Popsicle
they would more likely to want to participate with the rest of us. I think this
would have gone over in a different way if it was just me and mason giving out
free hugs, having a small girl like Deidre there made us seem less creepy and I
think that helped a lot with the girls stopping. But all in all we got a pretty
positive reaction.
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