Day 688: Hugs

Before I came to college, I wasn't one for hugs, and I still find that I tend to shy away from physical contact. I don't really know why this is, and it actually baffles me since I used to hug my Dad all the time when I was younger. Regardless, I'm not a hugger, or at least I wasn't before. I actually remember this one time in High School when a friend learned of this fact and attempted to hug me, only for me to escape by ducking out of his arms. It all ended up being quite hilarious.

College started changing me though. I have a friend or two that loves to hug, and I've gotten better about it. I hug people more often, although not everyone. I have to have a certain amount of trust for the person to hug me. Ironically enough, I swear that when I meet Colin O'Donoghue someday the first thing I'm going to do is ask for a hug. It's my goal.

Anyway, I know I've come pretty far with hugs because as much as the Disney parade on the band trip is still sort of fuzzy in my mind (I only remember bits and pieces to be honest), everything that happened immediately after the parade is seared into my brain. I remember coming off the parade route and my band director was waiting there for us to get back and the first thing I did was go and give him a huge hug regardless of the fact that we were both probably super sweaty and gross because Florida is HOT in June when you're wearing band uniforms and march a parade. I gave him another hug later, simply because I was so overwhelmed by everything.

But today one of my friends just needed a hug. It had been a bad day so far and you know when you can just tell that someone needs a hug? It was one of those moments. However, because of my lack of knowledge in the rules and regulations of hugging, I honestly sat and debated when to pull away. Should I pull away? How long is the hug going to last? Is there some sort of hugging length regulation? I don't know these things. And then I remembered this:

Previous to the hug, I had no idea what was making my friend upset, so I had no idea what was going on. Although the hug was long, I made a point to pause and just wait for him to pull away, because I thought about it. Honestly, I may not be very good at hugs, and they may not be my favorite thing in the world, but I think this lesson is an important one. You don't have to be a Disney Princess and you don't have to be hugging a child for it to apply. When someone is upset and needs a hug, let them lead. You really don't know how long they need it. 

Does this classify as Things We've Learned From The Disney Princesses? Yeah, I think it does. 

Have a magical day!