“In a world full of people who could care less, be someone who couldn’t care more.”- Unknown

One day when I was just about to leave on a solitary road trip back to college, I stopped at my local coffee shop drive-thru. I ordered my typical medium caramel iced coffee with light cream and sugar that got me through all my adventures and pulled forward as kindly instructed. The lady in the drive-thru handed me my iced coffee. And that was it. She never told me the total. She never collected my money. She shut the window. Of course, as a human being with decent integrity, I waited. Eventually, the nice lady opened the window and told me something that, which I think would be kind of unsurprising to any other individual, would change the rest of my day. The person in front of me paid for my coffee.

See, I was having a kind of crap day. I was leaving my family for another grueling semester, and I was filled with anxiety. But this random act of kindness turned my whole day around. I will be honest, I cried a lot during that drive. Mainly because I was so happy that other people did this kind of thing in my city. This was a pivotal moment in my short 21 years of life. A relatively insignificant situation made me realize how good it feels to be kind and how this really could have a ripple effect. I decided that day to be kinder, no matter how hard or inconvenient it may be at times.

I saw myself saying yes to favors that I normally would say no to, because the car drive is too far, or I do not have the money, or I am too busy. I realized that being kind is usually free and takes up normally no time. I don’t think I will ever give it up.

Kindness literally makes you feel good all over. If you are sad or having a bad day, try doing something kind. I try to take part in the ‘random acts of kindness’ fad, which seems to be gaining tread recently, whenever I can. Be creative with it! Going through the drive-thru? Pay for the person behind you. Headed to the laundromat? Leave your extra quarters on top of the washer. Did someone’s dress catch your eye? Compliment them! There are a multitude of options when you want to practice random acts of kindness.

Sometimes, we have selfish intentions. It makes us human. I feel like it is our duty, as rational human beings, to decrease our self-serving actions and spend our days brightening others’ days. You can argue that it is also our duty to make sure we are kind to ourselves. Being kind and unexceptionally caring to ourselves will teach us how to be kind to others. It will teach us how to tell someone their hair looks pretty or how you are in love with their laugh.

Lastly, remember that kindness matters. Remember that you most likely will not see the effect of your kindness. Be kind anyways.