How being assaulted led me to kindness.
I always considered myself to be a kind person, but it wasn’t until I was assaulted that being kind hit differently.
I used to walk through the halls of high school, concerned about my outfit and my appearance; lost in my little world.
After being assaulted, it’s like my world opened up. Instead of being so inwardly focused on myself, I became aware - aware of the fact that others, like me, were struggling too.
If you were to ask my peers in high school to describe me they may have said something like: “student council president, outgoing, knows everyone”. While this was true, there was a complete different side that they didn’t know. The girl who struggled to get out of bed in the morning, who had an incredibly difficult time focusing in class, who pretty much lived in fear, and who laid awake for hours every night. I was struggling SO much yet very few people knew.
It was after being assaulted that I became more empathetic, and more kind. The reason why I wanted to be president in grade 12 was because people spend more time at school than at home (pre-covid that is) and I wanted to do what I could to make school a safe, enjoyable place to be. By being president, I was a familiar face in the school and found it easy to connect with students in all grades and of all circles. I wanted to spread kindness, to each and every one of the students. I thought that would be a lot easier to do, being that I was a known figure in the school.
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be Kind, Always”
I learnt about the power of kindness and the fact that you don’t need to know someone in order to touch them or leave an impact on them. This may sound obvious - I’ll explain.
About a year ago, I had got off the train and was walking through the halls of a University building. It was 7 in the morning and I was in a terrible mood, for no apparent reason… nothing was right in my world. I walked down the deserted halls; there was just me, and one other girl walking in my direction. As she turned to go down a hallway, we made eye contact and she smiled. I turned around to see if there was someone behind me she was smiling at, but there was no one in sight. She was smiling at me. That simplest gesture, that one act of kindness - completely turned my day around.
That experience has stuck with me ever since. That was the day that I truly learnt that you don’t need to know someone to spread kindness; to have an impact.
If I were to describe how I live my life in two words I would say: spreading kindness. I guide my life mindful of how I treat people and try to spread kindness every where I go. You may not always know the impact you have on someone, but you have the potential to impact someone greatly; either positively or negatively. I let kindness rule me and how I interact with people.
“They may forget what you said - but they will never forget how you made them feel”
Be Kind. Always.