By: Jada Law, Follow South Jersey Intern
SOUTH JERSEY- In late September of 2024, college student Tiyanna Carter had been struggling to decide how to study for one of the upcoming tests in her Introduction to Islam class. One of her peers in the class took notice of her frustrations and offered some help on the subject.
“He came and helped me study for the test,” said Carter. “He’s very well-versed in the topic of Islam and helped me pass and I ended up getting an A.”
This unexpected act of kindness from someone that noticed her silent struggle stirred positive emotions within her.
“It made me feel happy and I really appreciated that kindness because he did not have to help me,” Carter stated.
Just as seen with Carter, an article by the American Psychiatric Association states “When on the receiving end of an act of kindness, respondents were most likely to report feeling happy (56%) and grateful (51%), and least likely to feel indifferent (3%) or suspicious (3%).”
“Someone I recently just became acquainted with offered to help get some dorm decorations for my room,” said Lewis University student, Mercy Lasu. “Considering I’m an international student, I don’t have the privilege to move from another country with all my stuff the way some local students can. So, it meant a lot to me, and I felt appreciated.”
Kindness can also be contagious, Psychology Today explains that once an act of kindness is done toward a person, they will want to pass it forward.
“I’ve sought to be very intentional in my giving and I love making people feel seen and thought of using random acts of kindness,” said operations coordinator, Kennedy Evans.
Evans went on to explain that she has shown kindness through treating people to coffee, randomly sending money to others for a self-care activity, and has given flowers or cards to people to let them know she’s thinking about them.
Sometimes acts of kindness can also be actions that might go unnoticed but still make a difference in other people’s lives.
“A girl that I think is rather annoying came to talk to the group of [her friends] and, instead [of being mean], I let the group talk and kept my mouth shut,” stated Lewis University student, Jacianna Lendor.
Entrepreneur Raven Nole added, “I try to intentionally put things back [when shopping] where they go to support the workers there, because I used to work in retail and know what it feels like to have things scattered.”
Kindness is shared from person to person and can invoke positive reactions as it is passed. Kindness is contagious and can boost a person’s mood when giving or receiving it. Being kind is a concept that is sometimes overlooked by others but has numerous positive side effects in the long run.
From treating a friend to coffee to putting items back where they belong, kindness is all around, it just may take some time to really notice it in action.
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