The days after Christmas are sadly always a bit of a downer for me. There’s so much build up for the holiday — rushing to buy gifts, visiting friends and family, etc., — that when it’s all over it feels a little strange.

Unlike many past years, I’m still sort of in the holiday spirit — a feeling I wish could last for all of all year long.

I’ve been in Selma now for 18 months, but 2014 was my first full calendar year in the Queen City. Our city often gets a bad reputation, whether that be for its crime or its historical standing, but I’ve never seen so many people give back as I did this year during the holidays.

It seemed like every day during the months of November and December that we were hearing about someone donating gifts or clothes to an organization in and around town. Others gave away books or cooked a meal for some of the less fortunate in town.

Visually Impaired People donated books it received from Peggy Marchman to six agencies that serve visually impaired individuals. Reading is Fundamental gave out books to local children and Valle Grand Mexican Grill cooked a meal for residents at Park Place.

There was plenty of other giving, but all of those things happened in just the last week.

Each of us took a turn ringing the bells of the Salvation Army outside of Wal-Mart earlier this month, something the newspaper does every year, and the generosity of those going in and out of the store was incredible.

In the one hour I volunteered, many gave several dollars, while others gave whatever change they could scrounge up.

A few people even gave on their way in and on their way out of the store.

Those visiting the city for the holidays probably didn’t think twice about it, but this kind of giving is the norm for Selma.

Our city is on the national stage in 2015, at least for the first half of the year. The movie “Selma” debuted in theaters Christmas Day and it will soon be time for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

There’s a lot to be done before then to get the city prepared, but I’d say the people are more than ready.

I remember when I first moved to Selma.

When I asked people that had never been to the city what they thought about my potential move here, they all mentioned only the negative things they had heard.

What I’ve found is something completely different.

Everybody was immediately welcoming and and many were willing to lend a helping hand.

That’s the Selma that I and the rest of this city get to see every day.

When the world is watching in 2015, my hope is that Selma will shine the same way many of the people do each and every day throughout the year.