Random Acts of Kindness Essay

Random Acts of Kindness

Baylee Sutton

Tennessee Wesleyan College

Dr. Dick Pelley

October 26, 2015

            According the online psychology dictionary, kindness is a benevolent and helpful action intentionally directed towards another person, it is motivated by the desire to help another and not to gain explicit reward or to avoid explicit punishment.  (Psychology Dictionary)  If everyone performed a random act of kindness every day, the world would be a much better place that it is now. It is very important to give others kindness and worry about the ones in need rather than just yourself. Being polite to the people around you can really make the atmosphere around more positive. Kindness is like a boomerang, it always returns. I was once told, “It takes more muscles to frown than to smile.” Positive psychology is the scientific approach to studying, understanding, and promoting healthy and positive psychological functioning. It can relate to kindness. (Feist, G. J. and Rosenberg, E. L. 2010) I thought about the several acts of kindness that I have encountered, and how they relate to psychology.

          Random acts of kindness can go a long way in helping people out. Something as little as helping an elderly lady unload her groceries can brighten up someone’s day. An important reason to be kind to others is because it is contagious. I know if I see someone being nice to someone else, it motivates me to be like that and help someone out in any way I can. I believe that more people should do random acts of kindness more often. People are not as kind as they used to be, which in my opinion, we need to be nice and think of others more now than ever. If everyone were to perform at least a couple acts of kindness a week, the world would be a much better place. Random acts of kindness can be anything from giving a stranger a compliment to walling your neighbor’s dog. People that are kind to others tend to be happier and live much fuller lives. Here are a few little things I have done in the last semester.

       The most important act of kindness I done this semester is I paid for a veteran’s food. I was at Bojangles getting breakfast before school and I noticed this man wearing an army uniform. Instantly I gave the cashier another twenty and told her to pay for the guy behind me and I told her to keep the change for herself. Hopefully by doing this it will let other people know it is okay to actually be nice to others first. I have so much respect for veterans and I feel like everyone should do a pay it forward for them. They are risking their lives for ours every day.

       Volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one's ideals, work with people, solve problems, and then see benefits. I have volunteered in many hours, but one experience that I enjoyed and thought about the most was volunteering at an animal shelter back home in Crandall, Georgia. I love animals and it was exciting knowing that I could help them find a home. When I arrived there, I got a tour around the shelter. All I could see was happy or sad animals, but the shelter was extremely clean. There were three volunteer workers at the shelter. I would let the dogs out according to size and age, and while they were outside, I would clean out the pens and put clean shavings, food, and water in each pen. I also walked and played with the dogs that needed attention. When they are walking around and not in their cages, you can see the joy in their faces. Seeing them happy made my heart warm. This was an act of kindness because no matter what, humans or animals, you should always treat them with respect.

     I have lost numerous valuable objects and I have been very lucky to have some of them returned to me by someone who found them. I consider that as an act of kindness because the person could have easily keep it and not give it back to me. One time, I lost my wallet during a softball tournament in Crossville. I was petrified and I thought I was never going to find it. I had a debit card and about hundred dollars in it. Thankfully, I had my number in the wallet. Someone called me when they found it and gave it to me just like I had it. I was so thankful.  

     Over the summer the same thing happened again but vice versa. I was babysitting and I took the kids to the park. While I was pushing one of them on a swing, I noticed something under the shavings. I kicked the shavings off and noticed it was a wallet. I looked inside of it and it was full with credit cards and cash. I knew someone had to flipping out over losing this. After looking in it, I realized it did not have a number in it but it had an insurance card in it. Immediately, I thought about taking it to the police station. When I arrived there, I explained everything and then they looked up the name from the insurance card. After they found who it was, they let me follow them to the house to return it. When I returned the wallet to the owner, I instantly felt like a better person. The owner tried to pay me for returning it, but I did not take the money from them.

        Another random act of kindness that I have done is I have helped elderly people with their bags at grocery stores and retail stores many times. Every time I see an elderly person loading their car, I go over to them and help. I hate when someone walks right by and does not ask them if they need help. Many elderly people say that our generation is just horrible and I agree with them. It is not hard at all to ask someone if they need help, especially elderly people. I have a huge heart for older people. They have been through rough times and I believe they deserve some of the most respect behind veterans.

     During middle school, I would help with the special needs children. This was an amazing experience for me and I would love to go back and do it again. Every morning I would go to my homeroom, check in, then go to the special needs classroom. I would help them with activities they did and I would also help them clean up and go to the restroom when they needed to. The children absolutely loved me. I honestly believe that I had a lasting impact on their lives. I think that they deserve just as much respect, if not more, as we do. These kids are human as well.      

     Back home I would always help my grandma out around the house. She would always try and pay me for it, but I would never take the money. I would clean her house, mow her yard, fix her hair, etc. I would do anything she needed me to do. I feel like I am paying her back for taking me in when I was younger. She knew she did not have the money to take care of me like I needed it, but somehow she made it work until my adopted parents were able to take me in. I still go to her house every weekend to help her clean and cook for my parents, uncle and us. Last summer, she fell and broke her hip. She was not even close to having enough money for surgery, so I thought of an idea to help her pay for it. I put together a fundraiser online to earn money for her surgery. I would speak at school and in church about what all was happening and why I was doing the fundraiser. After a few weeks of having it up online, I made more than enough money for her surgery. I even got to buy her some new things for around the house. I will always be there for my grandma whenever and wherever she needs the help.