While growing closer to people I have relationships with, I have noticed grand gestures do not really capture the essence of the relationship the way smaller ones do. Over time, I have received many big gifts, and while I have loved almost every single one of them, smaller ones have always stood out to me.
Since I was younger, I have had a birthday party every year. Except for the COVID-19 car parades my parents held, my birthday has been a time to celebrate my trip around the sun with gifts from my friends. While I appreciated every gift card, extravagant gift and Sephora item, smaller gifts have always meant the most to me because the most thought were put towards them.
When going through gifts at my 15th birthday party, I recall being most excited to open my best friend’s gift. My best friend and I had then, in turn, been best friends for 15 years. For my birthday, she made me a scrapbook of photos of us throughout the years. While the scrapbook itself was beautiful, the thought of her spending hours piecing it together will always stand out to me.
This made me recognize that it is the small gestures that truly matter. Holding that scrapbook, I realized that while a gift card is great, it does not capture memories. The scrapbook held 15 years of friendship that made me understand the impact of a small gesture on someone’s life.
Now I find myself looking for those small moments everywhere. I have started to realize that love is not always when someone takes the liberty to buy you something expensive or take you to a fancy dinner. Sometimes it is just someone remembering your Starbucks order or sending a text to make sure you got home safely at night. Small gestures are the quiet thing that holds relationships together.
Since then, I have noticed that every time someone makes a small gesture for me. Whether it is when my friends pick up my Starbucks order, when they give me a ride home or when my mom randomly picks up my favorite sushi when she is running errands, I make a mental note and dedicate a big place in my heart to the one performing the gesture.
So, while big gestures are always great to have and appreciated, the little things do always count and are always more meaningful than something grand.
