The Most Overlooked Yet Effective Way of Making Someone’s Day: Compassion

The Most Overlooked Yet Effective Way of Making Someone’s Day: Compassion

Many of us have grown up with our parents telling us the same sayings: “be kind,” and “what you give is what you get.” In fact, many of us have heard these sayings so often that they have become ingrained in our brains, and we forget to think about what they really mean.

We have all been there. You’re having a bad day, nothing seems to be going right, and then something happens that sets you over the edge, making you feel like the world is against you. We have all found some truth in that overstatement. What many people don’t realize, however, is sometimes it takes one kind action to set your day in the right direction. Sometimes someone paying for your burger at McDonalds can make your day seem not as bad after all. Maybe someone helping you bring your groceries to your car after a long day of work can lift your spirits.

Everyone chases the grades. Everyone chases the championship. Everyone chases the money. Very few people chase the connections that we so often happen to make with complete strangers. We have all been in a position where we are having a bad day and someone manages to lift our spirits. That happened because someone had compassion for us. They may or may not have realized we were having a bad day, but they knew that we might, and that is enough. We shouldn't feel obligated to do something nice for someone who is down in the dumps. We should feel obligated to do something nice for everyone, no matter what their situation may look like. You never know, you may end up making someone's day.

• James S., 11th Grade