I’m sure that many agree that college is a place where students can feel underappreciated.  After every essay that we crank out, every textbook that was flipped cover to cover, and every hour that we miss from sleep, we might feel we should get an award…but we don’t!  Sometimes the best feeling is not when you get something from someone, but instead when you give back.   Just one person being kind can start a chain reaction. Could that be you?  By participating with the Le Moyne College Wellness Center in R.A.K. [Random Acts of Kidness] Week, February 10 though 16, you can show your campus and the world just how kind you really are.

Kindness isn’t rare on Le Moyne’s campus, but it sure can be improved!  Simple “hello’s” can really make a person’s day and hopefully will even rub off on another person, and thus,  create that chain reaction!  It is not hard to be kind,  it is just finding the opportunity and taking the initiative to do so.

So be bold with your kindness and the person on the receiving end will definitely give you the gratitude and appreciation that you deserve. You can even practice gratitude [send a letter, make a sign, or say it face to face].  A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concluded that people who listed what they were thankful for were healthier, happier  and had fewer complaints.

So being kind really makes you live longer!

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, kindness goes a long way. You don’t have to be in a relationship to give someone something special. Giving a stranger something when they least expect it leaves a great impression on who you are and what you are capable of.  Believing that you can do something that makes a difference is what matters.

Random Acts of Kindness (RAK):

-Say hello!

– Bring a friend a snack

-Forgive – it may be hard, but is it really worth it to be upset forever?

-Apologize when necessary- sometime we may mess up, but show that you are capable of moving forward

-Give when you can- pockets full of change? Hand some change to someone homeless

-Give a hug to someone when needed

-Spark up a conversation on whatever or just talk about how different you  are

-Compliment and you just may get one back

-Say “ Please and Thank you”

-Open the door for someone [Guys, chivalry is not dead and your chances of getting a valentine increases tremendously. Gals, hold the door for a guy and watch him be stunned!]

-Smile!