I believe in kindness. I have for all my life. As far back as I can remember, I have always tried my best to do what was the right thing. I will say, what I believe to be "the right thing" has indeed gone through changes, and has grown just as I have. But the thing that has always remained the same is this: I want to be a kind and caring human being. This is one of the core pieces to being a person of integrity, a person of community, and a person of leadership, in my opinion.

As of recent years, it is no question that the world has erupted with violence, misunderstanding, rejection, infection, and hatred. One thing is certain: The world needs kindness now more than ever.

This is a necessity across the board. The interactions we have with our neighbors across man-made borders, across the pond, to the people we interact with every day, to our own planet, to the many new and innovative dreams and ideas, and to the many diverse lifestyles that so many people lead. All of these things are suffering from an extreme lack of kindness. If you lose this, then so many other pieces of humanity go out the window, especially empathy.

From here, we have seen an uprise in the attacks on viewpoints, voices, ideals, values, lifestyles, cultures and meaning. These attacks have been both external and internal. They have spread around the world, as well as within our own nation. And, on top of all of this, there is ALSO an EXTREME lack of kindness... for the soul. This is the kindness that can be shown towards others, but also to ourselves. Speaking from experience, I most certainly suffer from a lack of self-kindness, and if you can't be kind to yourself, then how can you possibly show true kindness to anyone else.

Though it may seem impossible, I believe that it is not. We are the generation that can (and WILL) fix this. And it starts... with what we teach our children.

By now, many of us have begun to realize what worked, and what absolutely did not work when we were being raised into the humans we are today. I certainly have. So, I believe that it is our mission to raise the next generation to be one of integrity, passion, dreams, and acceptance. It is our job to raise kind human beings. Just imagine it... if we can raise an entire generation of kindness... imagine what that could do for the world. For each other. For themselves.

Please, raise kind humans. Teach them to be kind to others... and themselves. The world depends on it. Desperately.