A Small Act of Kindness Makes The World a Better Place

Ryan Halligan, Jessica Logan and Amanda Todd. These are just a few names out of countless victims whose lives were taken prematurely because of mean “jokes” and bullying. So let me ask you this, what gives us the right to take a life away or insult others, even if it wasn’t intentional, just because you decided to do an unkind gesture you viewed as funny at the time. Why do we insist on creating a biased social system where we put people who we view as inferior at the very bottom, without giving them a chance? There is a simple word that could have possibly prevented these, and thousands of deaths such as these all over the world.

The word is Kindness. Kindness towards one another should be a common goal amongst not just you and your peers, but for everyone. Every time you do an act of kindness, such as helping an old lady cross the street or even something as small as opening a door for a stranger, you are creating a better mood and environment for all who witnessed it. Doing this could make someone’s entire day. These simple acts make people want to do the same, soon enough, you have just affected millions of people with a single small act. A small drop in a pond can create a ripple that spans the entire surface. So as the saying goes, one man can quite literally change the world. We all come from different walks of life, from the fortunate, to the unfortunate to the ones in the middle, we are all people and we all have feelings and individual thoughts. You don’t know the baggage someone is carrying in their personal life, so what’s the point of making it heavier? Words also have an impact on people.

Simple jokes such as “what are those” or “it aint Ralph though” could make someone’s day that much worse. We all have or moments where we just ,forget, and that’s ok, we all make mistakes, the goal of this speech isn’t to prevent you from going out and making a joke at your friend’s expense, but to make you think of the consequences of the joke just a little more than you would’ve. Instead of insulting clothes and shoes, why don’t we focus in on other stuff? Things such as personality, sense of humor or maybe even their smile, after all, when we die, all of our clothes stay here. Every single person you see around you only happens once, you will never again see the same exact personality and looks on anyone else, they aren’t one in a million, they are one in infinity.

Often, though, the same people who want to make fun of others, are the ones that need the most help. Regardless of what side of the spectrum you are in, never be quick to judge others, even if they just said something offensive, we all have lapses in our judgment, it happens to all of us. So please, next time you see someone drop their books, help pick them up, you notice an elderly woman having troubles with her groceries? Help her take them to the car. I challenge you to make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time. “Never look down on anyone unless you are there to help them up”