He was sitting all by himself, with no one to talk to, when a table during my lunch period noticed.
Immediately, I felt sad. I wouldn’t want to be treated like that.
Then I saw that table do a small act of kindness: they invited him to their lunch table. It didn’t take three weeks or months, it only took one day to do a selfless act to make someone feel included.
Why doesn’t that happen every day?
“To some people it’s hard because it’s not the most fun to do, and if it goes against the social norm, it can be nerve racking,” sophomore Blake Schultz said.
Instead of being afraid of what people might say, why doesn’t everyone at Kaneland, including myself, take a stand and treat people like they should be treated?
Most of us grew up having our mothers tell us that expression, but many of us don’t follow it anymore. Maybe it’s an idea that didn’t stick because we’re so obsessed with being cool now.
Teenagers aren’t the only ones—most people at some point in their lives have done it. I’ve done it. I’m not proud of it, but I’m changing my ways to be kind to everyone.
Even when we don’t do the right thing all the time, it doesn’t make us bad people. It can be hard to do something out of our comfort zone,and peer pressure keeps us from doing what we know is good. The fact that it might not be “cool” to someone else keeps us from stepping outside of the box.
Who says that giving back and being kind isn’t cool?
In the real world, not everything is set in stone. The word “cool” to you and “cool” to me might mean two entirely different things.
“Cool” to me is not being defined by social norms and not being afraid to do the right thing, no matter what our peers might think or say.
Doing an act of kindness does not have to be a big ordeal and it doesn’t require a parade. It can be something simple as inviting someone to sit with you or giving back to the community.
Schultz is among those who gives back by volunteering at a food pantry.
“I believe if you do something good for someone else, it can turn into a chain reaction,” Schultz said.
That chain reaction is exactly what we need to get started at Kaneland because the simplest things can mean the world to someone else. It can be as easy as opening the door when someone’s hands are full, asking someone to sit at lunch with us, joining Charity Club or participating in Feed My Starving Children.
We just need to show that we care—and we don’t need presents. We need the total opposite of that. The best gift is the gift of kindness.