As the weather grows colder, it makes sense that we try to warm the atmosphere at Pitt with acts of kindness. Random or not, showing kindness towards our fellow students and members of the Oakland/Pittsburgh community is a way to brighten the days and combat the cold. Here are some easy ways to ease the burden of the end of semester for others!
1. Leave quarters in the laundry machines or taped to vending machines for others to find.
Â
2. Write a letter to someone special who you haven’t spoken to or seen in a while. It will make them smile, and you’ll actually be helping out the post office as well!
Â
3. Write positive messages on slips of paper and pin them to peoples’ doors in your dorm floor. Or leave a note on everyone’s desk in a small class. Don’t sign them – just sit back and see their smiles when they read the positive message.
Â
4. When standing in line at a coffee shop, hand the cashier a $10 bill instead of the exact amount for your drink and tell him or her to use the change for as many people behind you until it runs out. This is a nice way of easing the strain on your caffeine-dependent colleagues and it’s easy to do.
Â
5. Give up your parking spot to someone else. Walking a little farther to class or to your dorm won’t kill you.
Â
6. Bring in baked goods for your night class (assuming it’s not an organic chemistry lecture of 200 students) to cheer everyone up.
Â
7. Buy food for a homeless person (or your friend who can’t cook to save his/her life). It may seem pretty rough being a broke college student, but at least we have friends and family who won’t let us starve on the streets. Some people aren’t as lucky. With Thanksgiving approaching in a month, let’s give people reason to give thanks.
Â
So there you have it, friends! Kindness shouldn’t be hard to come by, and these are a few ways to increase the cheer on Pitt’s campus. So choose a corner of campus and start working your magic – we can’t wait to see the difference you make!
Â