365 Days (Part 2) | ✓

345. Random Act of Kindness

345. Random Act of Kindness: Write about a random act of kindness you've done for someone or someone has done for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed.

This was a difficult prompt simply because so many people have done so many nice things for me. It’s hard to choose just one to write about when there's so much kindness in the world. I decided to describe the following because of the effect it's had upon my life for being such a small thing.

*

8th grade. I am shy, gawky, painfully awkward, and quiet. Naturally, I am actually pretty social, but after years of solitary homeschooling away from people my own age, I wasn't sure how to speak to them when I did come into contact with them.

His name was Andrew, and it was a very brief conversation we had at a youth event. We were playing a game and there was a chair between us. I always sat alone back then. All we did was exchange a few comments; casual and it exhilarated me because I sounded normal for once, and not like the socially impaired teenager I was. I don't even remember what we said. It couldn't have been more than a few sentences relating to the game.

Later, though, I inadvertently discovered he was the son of my leader, Christy. "Oh," I said, surprised. "I didn't know you were related."

"Oh yes," she said easily. "He asked me about you, if you were in my group. He said you're very nice." She smiled at me as she continued with what she was doing.

And even though it was such a simple, small thing (Andrew saying that and Christy repeating it), I thought about it for years afterwards. I think about it still. All he did was say I was nice. That's all.

But perhaps it meant so much to me because no one had ever bothered to say that about me before. (Probably a sign that I was not very nice at all.) However, it filled me with this warm feeling. It made me want to hear it again.

So I tried to be nice. I tried to be kind.

Andrew was that person that spoke praise about people even when they're not around. Christy was that person who looked for ways to encourage others. I wanted to do those things too.