I’m not big on surprises.
Rephrase that: I am not easily surprised.
Never one to like being the “center of attention,” I was the kid who hated opening her birthday presents at her own birthday party because I have a really bad “surprise” face and reaction.
I can totally love something and think it rocks, but I am pretty laid back and low-key when it comes to surprises and attention.
My Sweet 16—a surprise party—is a prime example.
“Lauryn, be home by 6 p.m. tonight, we have something for you,” my mom told me that morning as I pulled out of my driveway for the first time BY MYSELF in my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Edition (blue with leather interior).
“Ok, sure. See you later,” I replied, thinking nothing of it, and peeling out of the driveway with Nelly’s “Shake Yo’ Tailfeather” playing first on my burned cd mix.
That night: 6 p.m. I arrived home, thinking my family and I would be hitting up Buffalo Grill—my favorite local restaurant in town—when I was greeted not only by my parents and brother and sister, but 15 of my closest friends, “Surprise!”
Totally unexpected.
And while I am not one for surprises, I totally didn’t see that one coming, and was genuinely floored that my 15 best friends and family thought enough of me to celebrate…me.
The evening was epic as we all piled into a Stretch Hummer limo and rode into the night, karyaoking the whole way, an hour outside of Little Rock to Hot Springs, Arkansas where my parents treated us to dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf on the lake.
Epic surprises. And simple surprises.
Surprises in general have an uncanny way of making the recipient feel loved and cared for—thought of and important.
So today, for Day #15 of your #thrivelife project, your mission is simple: Surprise a friend.
(No, you don’t need to rent a Stretch Hummer Limo).