#AdamsActs is back and still kicking this week. For week 2, I’ve been continuing to complete a random act of kindness every day in an attempt to live a kinder life as well as do the good that Adam would have done. In case you have found this article and are unfamiliar with #AdamsActs, check out my previous article here or the story of the amazing woman who started here. Long story short, I’m completing one (or more) act of kindness every day in the month of October and want to bring all of you along on this journey with me. Here is how I spent my Week 2.
Day 6: In all honesty, this one was not particularly random. In fact, I had been planning this kindness act for weeks. While it can feel difficult to celebrate anything these days, I put together a gift of things I knew my best friend would love and sent it to her at school so she would feel celebrated on her birthday.
Thoughts on Day 6: Continuing with the honesty here, I think I got as much out of this one as she did. Even miles apart, I got the opportunity to watch her open her gift, see her smile, and hear her laugh. We’re really good at taking those things for granted until they aren’t a guaranteed part of our daily lives — causal side note to remind you to be grateful for any and all time you get to spend with the people you love. But to be brief, I don’t think there is any better feeling in the world than knowing you are the reason for the smile on someone’s face, especially when it’s a smile you love to see. Kindness can do that. Day 6 was a good reminder of why I chose to do this challenge every year. For many acts, I won’t see the way it makes others feel, at least not immediately, but today I did, and it felt great.
Day 7: A friend of mine from high school reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to proof-read a project of hers that was due as a part of her midterms. While the project wasn’t completed yet, I did a good edit of what she had to help her move into finishing it.
Day 8: In continuation with Day 7, I offered to do a second look through of that project. In addition, I had planned to meet up to study with a different friend of mine and while it would have worked better for me to meet her closer to where I am located, I offered to meet closer to her as to take the driving time off of her plate.
Thoughts on Day 8: At this point, it has been starting to feel like I’m stuck in a rut. While I look for ways to be kind and to do random acts of kindness, the limited human interaction that I experience most days (thanks, COVID) can make the opportunities seem minimal. When they do come, they’ve been feeling really repetitive; help this friend with this assignment, support that friend in that way, these things don’t feel super out of the ordinary for me. It’s in that contemplation that I’ve been able to realize two things; First, the fact that these feel “normal” isn’t because they aren’t kind, it feels normal because I’m being kind in this sense more often than I even notice. Second, I am using my own skill set toward kindness. The reason so many of these seem to revolve around supporting others or helping with academics isn’t because my kindness has been lazy or because this is the easy way out, but rather because this is how I can be kind; by using my personal talents to be kind, I am able to give in a way that is more personal.
Day 9: I helped a friend study for a big exam she was really nervous about. I worked alongside her not only to help her learn the content, but also to help her gain confidence in what she already knew.
Day 10: I turned down an opportunity to spend the weekend with my college friends to instead babysit my sister and our dogs so our parents could go out of town for a late anniversary trip. Not only did I stay home so they could enjoy their time, but I also cleaned the kitchen and did all of the laundry so they could come back to a clean home. In addition, I offered to drive one of my sister’s teammates to their soccer scrimmage.
Day 11: I woke up early to take my sister to her soccer game, and instead of coming back and going back to bed, which was what I really wanted to do, I stayed up and went to watch her game. Afterwards, I took her out to get a slushie to celebrate a game well played.
All in all, I have been super busy this last week and I have an even busier week ahead, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t time for kindness. This past week I learned how kindness really can be a part of our daily lives, even if we don’t always notice it. I look forward to seeing what comes up in the next week. Until then, it isn’t too late to start yourself. If you open FaceBook and think that the world needs more good news, try using #AdamsActs as a start.