One day I was on Pinterest, pinning things to my "Positive Words" Board, that I use for pick me ups and word of wisdom. I noticed a pin that said "Random kindness makes more than a day". I thought about it and wondered what it would be like if I spent a week, doing at least one act of random kindness a day. I figured that it would be a fun little experiment to try and see if it made any impact significantly on me, and how others reacted to it. I told not a single person I knew, because I was not sure what I was going to do, or who would be involved.

Day 1: Starbucks

I was not sure what I was going to do on the first day, but I decided to get a drink. While in the drive through I remembering reading about people who bought for the person behind them, so I figured this would be the perfect step. I pulled up, not going to lie praying that the person behind didn't buy $100 worth of coffee, and paid. They had only ordered one drink and the barista seemed more excited than I was for this random act of kindness. I pulled into one of the parking spots after I got my coffee, to mix it up and the person behind me drove by, honked and thanked me. I felt pretty great, I do wish the guy had never seen me, but either way the first day made me happy.

Day 2: Offering to do something I didn't want to

For the sake that many of my family and friends read my stuff, I won't specify what activity it was. I will say though, I did not want to go, I wanted to be in bed watching Netflix, with other friends, and relaxing. But I did the activity and I made the most out of it. It was actually a lot more fun then I thought it would be, I am so happy I went. Sometimes you do things you don't want to for the ones you love. It is worth it, more memories, and if you have a good attitude everything will be great. Not to mention the people I was with told me multiple times how happy they were that I was there, and I was equally as happy.

Day 3: Choosing family over friends

Being home for summer is a great time. I love seeing my old friends and catching up with them. I tend to pick them over family because I miss them so much. I noticed some family members making comments about me being gone, and I began to feel bad. It was not that I did not miss them, I just got carried away. I think most college students, experience it, but it is important to stay close to home, they made you who you are. So anyways, I canceled plans with friends and spent the day with some family. Again, I was so unbelievably happy, it did make me sad watching videos of my friends making memories, but it was completely worth it. I had so much love in my heart, after this day.

Day 4: Sent a random thank you text to a friend

I decided to text a couple of friends, actually. I texted some close friends how much they truly meant to me and how much I loved them. Both responded with texts of love and affirmation and it was just a great time. Not to mention they shared with me that I made their day and that's all I could really ask for. I then texted a friend whom I hadn't talked to in a while. I got caught up on her life, she got caught up on mine. We planned a lunch together to discuss more and it felt great to reconnect. It's crazy how one little text can make someone's day. Do it.

Day 5: I worked out

Okay, for those of you that are like "That's not and act of kindness!!!", well it was for me. I got of the routine of working out and decided to act kindly to myself. I worked out and felt great afterwards...I was very sore but it was worth it. By day five, I was insanely friendlier, I was talking and complimenting more people, and even some family said I seemed happier. I was wondering if I just had a great week or maybe these acts of kindness were actually making an impact.

Day 6: Complimented four strangers

I thought of this one, and was completely terrified to follow through with it. I do not like talking to strangers, and approaching one on my own made me almost go into a panic just thinking about it. But I bit the bullet, and did it. For the first woman I complimented, she talked to me first while we were in line at a store, I loved her shoes and told her after I gained some courage. She was very nice, told me where she got them, how she got them, how they felt, and what color they came in. She was passionate about them and left with a smile. The next girl I complimented was a girl's artwork that she had on the street. It was stunning, and if I knew I would not have to travel far with it, I would have bought some of her work. I asked about the inspiration behind it all and she was so passionate and told me that many people did not ask her questions like that. I told a man, I loved his style, because he had this business swag going on and I figured he should know. I think he thought I was hitting on him because he gave me his number, but never the less I was happy I even went up to him and said something nice. Lastly, I complimented a server at a restaurant, for just being overall great and very friendly. She answered all our question, never had an empty drink, and checked up on us a lot. I told her it was a pleasure to have her be our waitress and I loved everything. She was probably the most appreciative out of all the people I had interacted with and even gave me a hug.

Day 7: Helped a woman with her bags at the store

This one made me the happiest. There was a woman leaving Target with a huge basket full of food and other goodies. She was putting stuff into her car, and noticed she was getting tired and had to stop a lot. I walked over introduced myself, and asked if I could help her. She lit up and thanked me profusely. She shared with me her husband usually did this, but he was sick and her grandchildren usually help but they were out of town. She asked how old I was and tried to set me up with her grandson who was three years younger than me. I ended up talking to her for fifteen minutes after and left happier than ever. She was one of the cutest old ladies I had ever met.

At the end of the week, I realized as a whole that I was happier. Little things didn't get to me as much, and I felt closer to my family and friends. I think act of kindness should be an every day thing for everyone. I challenge you to try and see how great you feel after, and how many great people you meet. One of the most common sayings from people after a random act of kindness was, "You don't know how badly I needed that", you never know what a person is going through. I challenge you all to make your own and someone else's day a little bit brighter.