there’s a lot of things that are different in hawaii versus michigan. one thing being greetings. when i run into friends in michigan my initial urge is to throw up a peace sign, yet in hawaii its more common to receive a hug and a kiss on the cheek (just like in england).
& until i made this greeting a part of my daily routine, i never noticed how much the simple act of hugging affected so much more. a hug makes me feel part of the group, like my friends are happy to see me, like i’m family.
after doing some research, i found that a hug a day keeps the therapists away. hugs relax your muscles, making you less stressed as well as increasing dopamine levels, causing a boost in your mood and relieving symptoms of depression.
i used to do this competition with my friends in high school where we would see who could give out the most hugs in a day. this is something i want to start again. so from here on out, i’m going to start living by the words of drake and josh. “hug me brotha!”
