Have you ever had a bad day? You felt like everything was going south, and then a stranger comes up to you and shows a small ounce of kindness. Sometimes that is all you truly need to start feeling better again. They may have complimented your shoes, or held open the door for you, but what truly sticks in your mind is not what they did, but the way that they made you feel.

You don’t always have to be the one receiving the kindness to feel this way. It happens to go both ways, what you give you receive. This goes back to the famous quote, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel,” said Maya Angelou. Seeing a smile on someone’s face because of you can be equally as effective as receiving a smile due to a peer. The amount of gratitude you show makes you as a person happy. 

Students at GLSD are always trying to spread kindness, “I’ve started going out of my way to help others more, after taking on the challenge for the month of November,” said Julia Ludwig. Julia is a Junior here at Latrobe Senior High School who is a known RAKtivist. It all started when she was inspired and encouraged to spread kindness, and she later decided to continue those acts throughout her life. 

Since then, Julia has done many things to show these random acts of kindness. She started the school year strong. “So far I’ve started knitting blankets and  giving them out as gifts to people in my life, I gave my extra ticket to the homecoming football game to Mrs. Stallings because we were having the memorial for Mr. Ferraro, and she always said how close they were and how she really wanted to see the football game this season,” said Julia.

An attitude of gratitude can affect how you feel daily. Showing care and appreciation towards others can impact not only theirs, but the amount of happiness you feel. “Overall I just feel better about myself because I know I’m doing what I can to try and help others around me, and try to make others feel good about themselves too,” said Julia. Increasing the amount of kindness and gratitude you show is one of the most reliable methods for increasing contentment and life satisfaction.

Showing kindness is much more than just suppressing your negative thoughts for a day, it is truly meaning what you are doing to better yourself. The benefits of kindness go deeper than just a good reputation. 

It may be hard to start up becoming a RAKtivist. Maybe it’s your mindset, or you believe you don’t have enough time, “Just try to understand that everyone’s situation is different, and you being kind can make such a huge impact in someone’s life so it’s always a good thing to just be as nice as possible. If you’re able to spare some time and resources you can do more, but If people just try to be as kind as possible, it could make a huge difference,” said Julia. Doing one thing at a time can better yourself, and the people around you. Start by giving out compliments everyday to your peers, and see how you feel afterwards.