This I believe....
by Claudia D.
I believe in kindness. “Kindness, a language deaf people can hear and blind can see.” (-anonymous) Kindness is a key part of our society; that sadly, some of us still seem to lack. It is vital to be kind to people, because you don’t know how it may affect them. It is important to be kind to unkind people; for the simple reason that they may be the ones who indeed need kindness the most. It’s a very effortless task; sharing a simple hello or even just a nod of your head may really have a positive impact on someone’s day. I believe the best way to be kind is just giving away a smile to a stranger. Often times, a smile can say so much more when the words do not seem to fall so freely from our lips. My grandmother taught me how to always be polite with kind gestures toward others. She used to tell me it was displaying good manners, which in turn, others would notice. Therefore, I would always try to be as polite as I possibly could. Consequently, growing up I realized that being kind towards others is in fact not only good manners, but also so much more. Kindness is merely the right thing to do. There are opportunities everywhere around us to commit a small act of kindness; and it always makes me feel good when I perform a kind act. Just knowing that I might have made someone else’s day is reason enough to make a small gesture that can have such magnanimous effects. This is why I believe that showing kindness makes you a better person. After all who knows, maybe some of your kindness will rub off on someone else; thus, making them a kinder person. “By doing simple acts of kindness for others, we can’t help but lift ourselves up, too.” (-anonymous)*click* by Chris M.
The digitized sound of the camera was barely heard over the gushing stream beneath me. The only reason I take pictures, is so my folks don’t worry about where I go. I left home right after High school, and decided I wanted to see the world, or at least my own country. I tried applying for military service, but due to my high blood pressure even the army won’t take me.
My biggest ambition in life is to be poor and happy, and I’m off to a great start, I get to see a new sunrise every morning, and gaze at the nocturnal stars in the sky. I love my life. The only issue I got is that I need to keep communications with my mother. So, now I have to find a town with a computer that’s willing to let a ‘homeless-looking’ man use it. I look down at my reflection in the water; my hair’s grown shaggy and after a quick dunk, has returned to its original brown, I could almost feel the blackness leave my head. My whiskers are growing in; my pack is getting low, and my deodorant is almost out. I mutter under my breath, not even a sigh heard above the stream “So much, for worry free.”
I walked down the path and spotted a busy road, pushed through copper leafs, and made my way over a guard rail. A trick I picked up is that, in the morning, most of the traffic is headed out of town, while later in the day people are either headed for food or home. Up In the sky it was around noon when an old VW bus slowed down to eye me, to see if I looked dangerous.
On instinct I smiled, another trick I picked up on. Once the van knew I was friendly he pulled over beside the ditch.
“Where ya headed, boy?”
“I’m” My voice cracked, it’s been a while since I talked.
“I’m headed into town, which one or which way I don’t really care” I grinned.
“Alright, I’m heading into Altoona, that good?”
“That’s great mister”, so, I hopped in.
As we drove on we talked, I told him about my life, and he told me about his. He told me, a complete stranger, about his family, his goals in life, even his fears. Originally I wanted to see the land that I was potentially going to fight and die for… but after I got turned away, I discovered an even better reason, the best reason in-fact to travel the country.
Not every man even has a chance to tell his story. Not many even consider the man has a story.
And to think, if everybody knew everyone else’s story, then the whole goddamn planet might get along. I really have trouble striking up a conversation most of the time; I’m not much of a talker. But if you don’t talk while being hitched, then you give off the “-I’m a killer hitchhiker, whose going to steal your car, and leave you for the buzzards” kind of feeling.
The man asks “why do you do, (he motions to the road, then back to me,) this?”
I pondered a minute, “I guess I just like the road, it kind of reminds me of a favorite record, ya know? Each rock, each pebble is a line on the asphalt, another song, if you will. And on the road, very few people play the same song, or drive the same exact line of dirt twice. So you have an infinite number of people who finally have one thing in common.”
“What exactly?” he gave me a bewildered look,
I paused, “The road itself, the journey from one place to another.”
When we got to Altoona he dropped me off a library, shook my hand, and said good bye, and good luck. When I walked in, I heard the usual, “Who is that? What does he want?” thing being whispered throughout the room. I approached the counter, throwing on a mask of shyness as a woman approached. She didn’t speak, so as humbly as possible, I asked to use one of the computers. She said no. so I left.
I know what you’re thinking, if I had just told her why, or said my story; she would have been more than glad to let me use a computer. But my rule is to never force a story on another that didn’t need it. I did manage to get her picture though, as I stepped out the door, my mother always likes story fodder.
Service to Humankind by Ammarah S.
There are two kinds of happiness in this world. One is replaceable, and the other will stay with you forever. You can have a big house, an endless amount of money, plenty of cars, an easy lifestyle, and be happy-but how long will it last? The other kind of happiness is void of material goods. It is a happiness you receive by helping others. It is the smile that spreads across your face when the elderly neighbor thanks you for shoveling her driveway that was previously covered with snow. It is the way your face glows and heart swells when you give an impoverished child some much needed food.
Volunteerism, in any form, is vital to the well- being of this world. Any type of good deed, big or small, can go a long way. While I took advantage of volunteer possibilities during my free time at a local hospital, an interesting incident occurred. I was in an elevator that was currently about to close its doors when I saw a gentlemen in a white coat running towards me. Consequently, I held open the door for him and patiently waited until he entered. Later on that day, I spotted this same man again. He came over and informed me that he was an obstetrician who had received a call concerning a patient who needed an emergency Cesarean section earlier that day. He continued to say, that me holding the elevator for him was critical for the patient’s survival. I could not help but feel proud, that my common act of courtesy helped save a life. It goes to show you simple measures, which are increasingly neglected in our society today, need to be revived again.
For me, I began volunteering at a local hospital, without knowing the countless benefits I would receive. I gained a feeling that I had never felt before. The sensation was authentic and cannot be matched. Each time I assisted a recovering patient, whether I delivered a drink to quench an individual’s throat, or I just sat down with someone to have a heart to heart talk, the response of gratitude was great. It made me feel as if I was making the world a better place, one patient at a time. This emotion can only be obtained by helping others.
The public as a whole needs to look at the big picture. The reason we were put on this earth was to aid others. The next time you contemplate whether to hold the door for a stranger, or to help a person deliver groceries to their car, remember that you might end up assisting them in more ways than one. The feeling that you will receive will be of true happiness.This I believe.
