It is so crazy how the smallest acts of kindness can completely change someone’s day for the better. As I handed out fruit snacks around campus the responses I got were extremely eye-opening. I first approached one of my friends, Ashley Duncan, who I hadn’t seen all semester. I saw that she was waiting in line for a coffee at the SpoonHolder and I told her I had something to give her. As I handed her the fruit snacks she immediately questioned why I was giving them. I told her I just wanted to give them to her, because I wanted to be a positive part of her day and right away she smiled and thanked me. Nearly every person I did this to had the exact same response. To be exact 9/10 people.
It’s crazy to me how before people thank you for a kind gesture they jump straight into wonder why you are being kind in the first place. I think that goes to show a lot about our world and society now-a-days. We aren’t used to random act of kindness, so that when they happen it is an awkward experience. Another type of experienceI had was when I had given the fruit snacks to was a student on campus that I had never seen before. He was just walking back to his dorm from class and I asked if he wanted one. He looked at me kind of strange and then asked if I was talking to him. When I responded yes he seemed completely shocked and accepted the fruit snacks while thanking me over and over again.
I think that in today’s world we get so caught up in our own lives we forget about those around us. We don’t know whether the stranger walking home from class is on the verge of a breakdown or if they had just had the best day of their lives and I think that is what makes considering our own actions so extremely important. You could be the reason someone’s day is the best or worst they’ve had in a long time, so think of that the next time you are in a rush to class. Something even as small as stopping and holding open a door can mean the world to someone else. Our world is in dire need of positivity.