Celebrate International Awesomeness Day

A quick Google search for “daily holiday calendar” returns a number of 10 to 20 or more obscure designated celebrations for any given day of the year. March, for example, is known as Women’s History Month and hosts St. Patrick’s Day, the start of daylight saving time, and the vernal equinox. Among its over 300 other noted “celebrations” a few certainly stand out as amusing or puzzling. For example:

1st--National Dadgum That's Good Day

1st--National Pig Day

3rd--National If Pets Had Thumbs Day

3rd--Talk in Third Person Day

5th--National Cheese Doodle Day

9th--False Teeth Day

10th--International Bagpipe Day

10th--Land Line Telephone Day (should this be retired?)

14th--National Napping Day (Monday after daylight saving starts)

19th--National Corndog Day (third Saturday of March)

28th--Respect Your Cat Day

28th--Something on a Stick Day

One additional day that piqued my interest is the International Day of Awesomeness, first observed on March 10, 2008, by Kevin Lawver, the day’s creator. Lawver came up with the idea for this celebration while working with an intern named Freddie Maneiro. Freddie suggested that “Lawver’s awesomeness needs to be celebrated,” so the day was announced on Twitter. Since then, the trend has gained traction and is now celebrated on a global scale. Furthermore, Dan Lurie polished the concept by coming up with the catchy tagline, “Because everyone needs an excuse to be awesome.” Lawver’s daughter also came up with an inspirational new tagline, “No one’s perfect, but everyone can be awesome.”

In recognition of the day, I’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate the awesomeness of all my awesome MRA colleagues. I work most closely with the awesome Hotline team, who make everyday fun, educational, and a safe space for our members and each other to explore tough situations and ask questions that allow us all to continue to grow. I couldn’t ask for a better team, overall—from support staff to all our great resource departments, to leadership. I continue to have the honor of working with the most awesome group of people, who strive every day to make a difference in the lives of our members and each other.

This March 10, don’t forget to celebrate International Day of Awesomeness with your coworkers, or anyone else, and be sure to thank them for being awesome.