Acts of Kindness

This is a business known for being tough, a dog eat dog kind of world. So my suggestion may be a contrary, shocking novel idea, but can we all remember to try being kind?

As far as I’ve gotten on my own willpower and a toddler’s inability to understand the word “No”, a kind stranger here and there has helped me get the rest of the way there. I’ve seen it happen over and over again and the appreciation never diminishes. When I was auditioning for colleges, I was seventeen years old, at these strange schools that I had visited only once before when I met a student there, who was helping to run the auditions. I had a journal with me that day, so I could write down my impressions of how it went so I could overanalyze them for the weeks to come and his name ended up in that journal entry, because he was so kind and welcoming. I wanted to be there! I ended up deciding to go to college there, partly in thanks to him and incredibly happy that I did. (Later on, I did end up meeting him again officially and I thanked him for getting me here—an unforgettably priceless moment, he was so touched).

See what I mean?

More recently, I’ve been again the recipient of the random act of kindness: a stranger emailing me to say how much she liked my writing and wished more would be published. I woke up one morning to find my entire campus littered with Positive Post-It Notes. I’ve gotten into classes I wasn’t supposed to be in, because of a very kind professor. And a few weeks ago, I was having this terrible night; one of those where it seems the only thing you can do right is go to bed and get today done with. The last thing I had to do though, was help carry this extremely heavy flat across campus to where a show was going on that I had volunteered to help them load-in and my partner was late. Nowhere to be found and no response. Eventually, I gave up and put all my fury into dragging this set piece there. I passed people I knew and strangers who kept on walking until I was more than halfway there when a good Samaritan came out from behind the counter where she was working and helped me carry it all the rest of the way.

Not so recently but last October, I was doing a show, busking and bringing theatre to the people. We set up our little stage at a few town festivals and performed, afterwards passing our hats around to ask donations to support the arts. For our last show, we visited a nursing home and put on a performance for the residents! They enjoyed it immensely and we talked to them afterwards, they hoped that maybe more performers would come out and do a little show for them in the future.

Random acts of kindness don’t always need to be quite so big as a putting on a show like Mickey and Judy to entertain everyone but I don’t think it would hurt to do more good deeds throughout the day! Go out and hold a door for someone, pay for the person standing behind you in Starbucks, compliment a stranger, make cookies for your neighbor…in the meantime, I’m going to go do a good deed of my own.