It always amuses me when I look at social media and see how people rip athletes to shreds after they've had a bad game. They're some people who take the high road and encourage the athletes after tough performances, but then they're those who take that opportunity to put the athletes down by posting hateful comments. They prefer to be mean than to be kind.

But in a world of hate, kindness is a gesture that can't be overlooked.

Our world today is mean. People find relief in putting people down, making them feel less than what they're worth and making themselves relevant by putting other people underneath them. If you think I'm wrong, go on twitter and engage in a political debate with someone that doesn't agree with you, or engage with someone who thinks differently than you in general. In this day and age, people will call you everything but a child of God if you disagree with them. They display anger instead of kindness and that weakens us as a society.

A kind word or gesture goes a long way. I'm learning that day by day as it's displayed in my own life. This past semester was a grind and it took a toll on me mentally and emotionally. There were times where I felt like I couldn’t be a journalist because I didn’t feel like I was good enough. Thankfully, I had a professor who took a different approach in his critiques. He showed our class that he was on our side and that he wanted to see us succeed. As hard as the class was, he showed kindness and grace to us when he graded our papers and met with us individually. For me, it meant the world to know that I wasn't alone, somebody else believed in me.

Everyone has their own struggles that they carry on a daily basis. Sometimes, those struggles become overwhelming and a person could be close to reaching their breaking point. A kind word or a kind gesture could lift the spirit of someone who desperately needs encouragement. On the flip side, negativity and nastiness could push that person past their breaking point. I've seen it happen too many times and it's happened to me in the past.

The phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a myth. Words have meaning. Words can tear someone down or build someone up. Kind words can help someone on their journey or in some cases, save their life depending on the situation. Kindness has power that not only affects the receiver of the kind words or kind gestures, but it helps the giver of the kind gesture or word as well.

Being kind to others is healthy. Some people feel that being kind is the opposite of being tough and that's how you have to carry yourself. But can you imagine what it's like to walk around being mean all the time? Usually, mean and nasty people are miserable inside and their pleasure is making others miserable as well.

It's awesome and encouraging to see that even though others might be dealing with difficulties in their life, they make kindness a priority. It's my belief that these people have a deep joy inside that allows them to prioritize helping others, even though everything might not be right in their own lives.

Being kind to others brings hope. If my professor told me that I sucked, or that I was a waste of time, then who knows where that could have led. A kind and encouraging word could help someone keep the faith and march on to their destiny. One could say, the future depends on how kind we are to one another.

In the Bible, the word mercy is defined as kindness and it's mentioned around 300 times. Kindness has been needed since the beginning of time and will be needed until the end. Do your part and be kind to one another.