Kindness is everywhere – be thankful

Countless events can impact your day for the worse: too little sleep, no parking, a large amount of homework, getting a poor grade on a test, a heavy backpack, or a critical comment, to name a few. Between all of the miniature struggles of school – not to mention the inherent difficulties of the teenage years – it is all too easy to forget that life is, at its core, beautiful.

A large part of this magnificence is interpersonal connection. Selflessness manifests itself in ways big and small to combat nuisances and stress.

A major recent example began when I received an email from an organization offering a summer program. Watching the video, I recognized one of the individuals shown as a friend of a friend, whom I had never met. Finding it a strange coincidence, I sent my friend a picture of her friend, and she told him about it. He then recommended that I apply for the program and offered to  edit the essay required for the application. Once he had done so, he asked some of his other friends to look over my essay as well, in order to get multiple perspectives. Such effort to help me, put forth by a person who had never even seen me in person, was astounding, and I feel immensely grateful for his helpfulness.

Beyond that, people have been considerate in other situations and through different means. Hugs, texts asking about my day, compliments, jokes, buying my favorite foods, and more are thoughtful, caring actions that truly brighten my day.

In years past, I have fallen into the trap of remembering the bad events while discarding the good ones. This year, I began a habit that instantaneously improved this. Each evening, I take a small slip of paper and write down one positive occurrence from the day. I then fold the slip and place it into a mason jar full of the happy moments from the rest of 2020.

Some days, I write multiple events before punctuating my sentences with exclamation points and decorating the paper with a smiley face. Other days, I am forced to think for a few minutes before anything comes to mind. Even so, no day is so horrific that I cannot think of a bright side (“I made it home safely, even though I got a flat tire” is a perfect example).

So, what does this mean? Kindness and the silver lining can be found every day, in every situation, and by every individual. It’s just about training our minds to recognize and appreciate them.