I believe that my life has been carefully constructed by a never-ending list of choices that I’ve made. Whether they are big or small, my life was, in some way, altered by a given choice. So often I think about how my life would be different if I had gone to another school, or went somewhere else for dinner, or even chose Colgate instead of Crest, but it’s less frequent that I think about how my decisions affect others.

I see hundreds of people on a daily basis, each of whom is going through this mess of thing that we call “life.” I know faces and names, but don’t take the time to learn anything else. I float by, living in my head and worried about what I have going on for the day, when in reality, someone out there needed my attention more than I ever could today. And I ignored them.

I want to start being more intentional in my thoughts and actions towards others. So I decided one day this week to record when something someone said or did affected me in a positive way.

1. A girl at lunch told me that my outfit was cute.

I’ll pass someone wearing a really cool pair of shoes or a cute shirt, and say nothing out of fear. But when this stranger told me this, my face lit up. She didn’t know that I spent thirty minutes picking out this outfit. She didn’t know that this was the fifth shirt that I tried on, or that I had to settle for this one because I ran out of time. She was just being thoughtful, and it changed my mood for the whole day.

2. A guy in class told me I did a good job.

I received a homework grade in one of my classes - 90 percent. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a really good score, and I know that; but honestly, I was hoping for better. I put a lot of time and effort on it, and I was hoping for a 100 percent. A boy next to me asked what I got, so I told him, and he responded, “That’s great! Good job!” It no longer mattered that I wasn’t perfect; to him, what I did was “great,” and that one phrase was enough to bring a smile to my face.

3. Someone smiled at me on my walk to class.

This is the easiest thing for us to do, yet we so often forget how important it is. You never know what is happening in the lives of people that you pass. There have been days that I have left my dorm weeping, needing the least bit of reassurance, and I’m sure everyone else has been there too. A stranger smiled at me; he didn’t say anything, I’ve never even seen him before. But if you shoot someone a smile, nine times out of ten, I guarantee you’ll get one back. It’s a win-win situation, really.

These are just small acts; it's not like someone had to give me roses and read me a poem about how worthy and special I am. By showing kindness, you are sending that same message. So I challenge you to make other people a priority - lift them up when they are down. Smile more. Speak often. Show them that you care, because there are days when you need that, and today might just be their's.