Achieving Kindness

Whenever I see kindness occurring somewhere, whether it’s in school, in my own home, or on social media, it makes me feel happy. No matter if I’m the one receiving help or kindness, or the one giving, or just watching it happen, it makes me feel good. I believe that people should always be kind to each other.

In February of this year, I went on a relief trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. I went with a group at my school. A lot of my friends went with me. We worked to help people affected by natural disasters-- in this case, hurricanes. I worked at an older lady’s house. She had trash everywhere, her lawn was a mess, her fence was damaged, and there was a back part that had debris everywhere. There was so much work that needed to be done. Nevertheless, we were really excited to help out and make the woman happy.

We started the first day we got to Louisiana. It was a lot of hard work. I helped a few other houses as well. When we were finished, the lady was amazed. She was so happy and grateful that we were doing this, taking time out of our own lives to volunteer, to help her and her neighbors. She made us cupcakes and thanked us. She let us use her bathroom whenever we needed and offered things all the time to us. The look on her face is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Knowing that I, only a 15 year old girl, made a huge impact on someone’s life like that was so amazing to think about. Bringing so much help and kindness made me see how much I changed in her life when she was unable to help herself. Even though I didn’t understand how she felt, it made me realize that I helped this woman see the bright side of things again. I showed her kindness after something terrible, and knowing I made her feel happy makes me feel accomplished in a way.

I believe that bringing kindness to someone does benefit both people. According to Huffington Post, “Studies show that those who volunteer reap health benefits that may help you live longer.” This whole article shares on how when you’re nice to someone, you tend to feel happier and good about yourself and life. When you’re kind, your mood can uplift by a lot. It definitely makes the person receiving your kindness happy, but you can experience emotions and feelings just the same by doing something good for another. For example, if you see someone fall and you help them up, you helped them in a situation you know you’d want to be helped in. It helps the person who fell but it helps you knowing that you made sure that the person is alright and helped them when they needed it. You made a really big difference in someone’s day, even if it’s the slightest thing, and you should feel really awesome about it. I know I do sometimes when I help someone.

I believe that only good things come out of being nice. To illustrate, in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Boo Radley was always kind to Scout and Jem. He left them nice gifts, without taking any credit for it, and seemed to watch out for them. He also saved both of their lives from the attack from Bob Ewell, and made sure both of them were alright. He was named as a hero, and had respect grown back for him even though he had a reputation. It showed people who he really was. Thus, when someone does something nice for someone, only good things can come out of it. It can make everyone feel good about themselves or something they did. 

In conclusion, I believe that people should always be kind to one another, and I believe that being kind doesn’t only affect the person receiving it. Sometimes you don’t know what someone is going through, and it’s always best to be nice, because they could really need it. It doesn’t take a lot to be nice-- it can be the smallest thing, but still have a big impact on someone’s day. Even in certain situations, I still believe people should always choose kind. You should always treat people they way you would want them to treat you. There’s always something good that comes out of it. Kindness is a gift, and it’s always better to give to than receive.