I love giving gifts. I love the challenge of trying to figure out what a person wants and needs in their life. Whether it is Christmas shopping or for their birthday, the idea of bringing something that gives joy, in turn, gives me joy. That is the power of kindness can bring into our lives, no matter how big or small.

Kindness can be mistaken for weakness or fakeness because being kind may mean not getting in an argument with someone or smiling at a person who does everything in their power to tear you down. Being kind is one of the strongest skills you can have. It takes a lot of will power when someone is rude to you to not turn around and yell back in their face. It takes perseverance to keep going when life wants to get you down.

Kindness has been used synonymously for "being a doormat" or "easily taken advantage of," and in some instances, that is 100% true. I can easily think of several times in my life when I ignored the red flags when I was being used or had been pushed over.

I have realized, because of my own experiences, that you need to practice being kind just like you have to practice any other skill or talent you have. Being kind takes time and patience. You learn from your experiences, the good and the bad, to grow more of a "backbone" while still expressing kindness to people around you. You can have the best of both worlds when you are being kind to others while also being kind to yourself.

People sometimes underestimate kind people or think they won't be competitive in what they do. You can still be competitive and successful while being kind to others and yourself. I feel like people feel this way because even if you aren't kind to others, you can still be successful in life. The fact of the matter is, life isn't fair. Selfless people won't always win, or get the job promotion, or soak in the fame, or whatever goal they want to achieve.

Just because kind people don't always win means kindness is a weakness. Not all selfish or unkind people win every single thing in life either. How I look at it is simple, being kind doesn't always mean being the "winner" in things, but I know I can "win" so many others things in the process like the respect of the people around me or knowing I tried to be a bigger person.

Imagine a world where everyone followed the golden rule and treated others how they would want to be treated. Doing random acts of kindness wouldn't be some shocking thing; being kind would be commonplace and still make people's day.

Being kind sadly isn't common anymore, but I strongly think killing with kindness and turning the other cheek is something that we all can work on more in our lives. We don't have to always agree with different ways of life or values, but being more kind means you still treat the person with an open heart and with respect. You still have the desire to get to know that person and value them for who they are no matter the differences.

One of the most sincere compliments to give someone is not about their appearance but rather about who they are as a person. Our actions and words speak volumes to who we are as a person, and sometimes I wonder how do we want people to see ourselves? Who do we want to be? I know that if I could be anything in this world, I would choose to be kind.