With everything happening in the world today, hate and violence seem to be everywhere I look. While I understand the reasons behind these acts and turmoil in our country, I thought everyone could use a little kindness. So here are 17 simple, easy acts of kindness you can do every day to help make someone’s day (and yours!) a little brighter.

1. Compliment someone.

2. Compliment someone on more than just a physical attribute.

3. Pay your friend who is stressing from studying some coffee.

4. Bake cookies for your roommates for no reason.

5. Hold the door for someone.

6. Say Bless You, (or gesundheit, if you’re into that) when someone sneezes.

7. If someone seems a little worse for wear, ask them how they are doing.

8. Listen, really listen, to your friend when they are telling you their problem.

9. Buy the person behind coffee in line to pay it forward (and see if they pay it forward as well).

10. Call your mom just to talk.

11. Tell someone you love that you love them (everyone needs to hear it once in a while).

12. Smile when you pass by someone in the hallway.

13. Next time you are ordering coffee, food, clothes, anything – say please and thank you.

14. Talk to someone at a party who looks lonely.

15. Say you are sorry if you did something wrong.

16. Forgive someone if they hurt you.

17. Remember that we are all human and only get one life in this world, so please be kind.

“Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people."

This quote from Karen Salmansohn is one I think we can all strive to achieve because imagine a world where we all saw the best in people and were just as Ellen DeGeneres always says, kind to one another.