Recently, I started watching this anime called "Fruits Basket" and it really pulled at my heartstrings. In the first few episodes alone, the main character taught me much about very many things. Tohru, the main character, is depicted as polite, optimistic, extremely kind, and selfless. Tohru is the essence of cheerfulness and faces hardships with a positive attitude while being extremely compassionate to everyone around her. The series begins shortly after her mother dies from an accident and shows that even though she's seen many tradegies in her lifetime, she uses lessons that her mom taught her to see the bright side of any situation. Tohru says in an episode that "No one really starts out kind. All we know how to do at first is want. We want food, we want attention. It's just natural survival instincts, I guess. But kindness is something that we all have to learn as we go. It's something that grows and develops slowly over time, the same way our bodies do." I think we can all learn a lot from this character and how she sees the positive in most circumstances.

I believe that if everyone were to be nice and compassionate to others, even on the bad days, we could drastically affect the life of others in a very positive way. Let's face it, nobody can be one hundred percent perfect and we all can be a bit selfish or rude if people catch us on the wrong day. Imagine what would happen if we all tried a little harder to continually be kind to others, even in cases where others aren't kind to us or if we may not necessarily agree with the views and opinions of others. Many of us forget that because no one person is exactly like anyone else, that we're bound to get in disagreements with others because of clashing beliefs and ideas.

It is in times when we feel the most divided that we must stand together and support each other to lend our stengths to those who may need it. We never know what another person faces on a day-to-day basis and a simple negative word can make any situation seem much harder and worse than what it was before, which is why it is super important to always lend a smile or a kind word, regardless of what may be occuring in our own lives. Give unto others what you would like to receive in return.

On my worst days, I turn to my friends because I know I can count on them to make me happy just by being theirselves. Happiness comes from the kindness of those around us. Imagine the change we would see if even a small number of people strived to be kind and compassionate to all of those they might meet. It's very simple, but maybe because of it's simplicity, it can be a very hard thing to be kind; especially to those who may have wronged us. I do know one thing though. I'm going to strive to be more kind and compassionate regardless of what life throws my way.