Kindness is not just something that happens during the holidays, it is something that happens every day. Kindness means many different things to people through actions or words.
For students at Harper, random acts of kindness mean a lot and brighten their day. There are many stories of kindness throughout Harper since everyone has a story to tell. For college students especially, life can be busy and it’s easy to forget others but being kind can help those struggling, whether it’s shown or not.
The Power of Kindness in a Busy Workday
Freshman Natasha Baratta, it was another busy day working at Noodles and Company. With all the restaurant traffic, many customers were inconsiderate, only adding to the stress of working in food service.
As the rush stopped, Baratta explained how a mom eating dinner with her family approached her and her co-worker. The mother said she appreciated their hard work and told them they were doing a great job.
“I was stressed out and when you feel like everyone’s watching you it makes you even more worried and all over the place,” said Baratta. “Just hearing that calmed me down and made it easier to ignore the stares I was getting & I was able to keep doing what I was doing.”
Baratta and her coworker were touched by the comment and felt it could help them get through their shift.
“It immediately made me smile… It was a short interaction but it definitely impacted my shift. It felt like one person was noticing when I thought no one was noticing [how hard we were working]. It really just takes one person. “said Baratta.
Helping Out a Friend
Sophomore Sharlyne Cruz, a nursing student, found her Pharmacology class difficult and knew she needed help studying and understanding the material. A new friend and a classmate decided to wake up early with Cruz to study for an important exam and they ended up studying for two hours.
Cruz and her classmate shared their notes and pushed each other to do well on the test.
“[When I help others], it makes me feel like I made a difference in [someone’s] life to make it easier. I try to help them feel relaxed and confident and let them know they got this,” said Cruz.
Cruz recognizes that when she receives a random act of kindness from a stranger, it’s noteworthy because she does not see that every day. Cruz believes it does not take a big gesture to promote kindness and make peoples’ day.
“It can be any help that you can give. Reading people’s body language, being more aware of our environment,” suggested Cruz. “If you see someone carrying something or complimenting someone.”
Cruz explains that expressing kindness in how you say things is important. She says that if you mean something kind but say it in a different tone it can mean something totally different so be aware of how you are saying it.”
Small Gestures Can Make a Big Impact
Freshman Gabi O’Grady recalls many random acts of kindness that made her feel good. She remembers someone tying her shoe for her when she didn’t even ask them to & remembers how teachers gave her extra notes in class to help her succeed.
O’Grady compliments people without thinking about it and believes being kind is more about making others feel good rather than just herself.
“It shows how you can be a good person without even really trying so hard. It costs nothing to be nice,” says O’Grady.
O’Grady notices when people do random acts of kindness for her, it makes her feel less alone and worthy. She strongly believes in being kind to everyone and feels that on social media, it is especially important to be kind. 
“People can think before they comment like things about people’s bodies and be courteous. People can think about what they say before they do it and can think about how that can affect someone’s self-esteem,” O’Grady said.
She says that it’s important to reach out to people. It could be someone you don’t talk to as much anymore or ask people if they’re struggling.
“A really good thing about being a human is you can be kind and you don’t need to feel bad about being kind,” reasoned O’Grady. “Just because you give someone a compliment and maybe they don’t reply means maybe they’re struggling with their own things. You still did a good thing even if they don’t reciprocate it back.”
For future inspirational stories, follow Harbinger’s Instagram Harbstudentnews.
