I asked as many people as I could – friends, family members,
classmates, strangers – to think of random acts of kindness that they witnessed
in the past week. Here is what they said:
1. My friend brought me a Reese's because I'd been feeling down all week.
2. My roommate asked for my advice on a column she was writing. It's nice to know that she values my opinion, and I honestly felt really loved and appreciated.
3. My mom sent me a picture of her dog.
4. I've noticed people are holding doors for each other a lot more now.
5. Last night, one of my boyfriend's friends who I only know sort of well was upset and got emotional and starting crying, and I wiped one of his tears away and then we hugged and I kind of held him there for a little.
6. My uber driver broke the law for me so I could catch my train.
7. My best friend invited me to her family's Thanksgiving dinner, even though I'm not actually a member of her family.
8. My friend talked to me on the phone for three and a half hours at three in the morning when I couldn't sleep.
9. My friend met me at Harvard and offered to pay for my meal, and also bought me a coffee only to hang out for a couple hours.
10. I was having a bad day the other week and was really exhausted, and my friend called me to hang out and I just started crying on the phone and she dropped off flowers and chocolate.
11. I have a tough exam tomorrow and people have been wishing me luck and telling me to just do my best.
12. My friend texted me that she missed me and she loved me.
13. When I texted them that I was having a really rough week after the election, my friends all wrote the sweetest messages back. Some of them even messaged me individually, and it made me feel a lot better.
14. I felt so loved when my friend spent 45 minutes on the train to come to my birthday dinner even though she had a paper to write that night.
15. There were more dogs than usual on campus this weekend, and all the owners let me pet them.
16. My friend told me to text her when my plane landed.
17. My friend came to my boring choir concert.
18. My mom brought my dog to the airport when she picked me up.
19. I was feeling really stressed about classes but my professor spent an hour helping me figure out my schedule.
20. I showed up to the cafeteria really drunk, but the lunch ladies were really nice to me and helped me put food on my plate.
21. I bought my roommate a pair of cat socks when she was having a particularly stressful week. I think it cheered her up a bit.
22. My professor asked me if I got the job I was hoping for. I didn't even remember telling him about it, and it meant a lot that he remembered and cared enough to ask about it.
23. A friend who I don't see that much asked if I wanted to get dinner.
24. Someone who I don't know too well invited me to join in a campus protest when I was feeling a bit shy about joining in.
25. My roommate closed my computer for me when I fell asleep with it open.
26. I left a note for the people with the radio show after me and they gave me a little shout out saying thanks, and it was super sweet!
27. A song came on in our suite and everybody started singing.
28. I got texts from friends saying "we're all in this together" after Trump was elected.
29. I saw two random women near Brown and Brew huge each other.
30. Even though most of us thought the news of Trumps election was devastating, there was a warmth on campus in a way that's hard to explain.
31. My roommate vacuumed our room.
32. My dad's girlfriend texted me and told me she was looking forward to seeing me for Thanksgiving break.
33. A classmate that I don't know very well sent me his notes when I missed class.
34. I felt really special and cared for when my friend helped me with my homework really late the night before it was due, even though she had a lot of other things to do.
35. My friend drunk-texted me, "I LOOOOOVE YOUUUUU!" Like she was drunk, but it was still super nice, you know?
36. I was feeling really sad and wanted to have a fun night out. My roommate wanted to have a more chill night, but she drank and went out with me anyways so I wasn't alone. It doesn't seem like much, but it meant a lot.
37. I was doing a group tour with my boyfriend, and we ended up leaving the tour to help an elderly couple walk around the city who couldn't keep up with the tour guide. I learned a lot more doing this than I would have from the tour.
38. I couldn't sleep one night, and my friend laid in bed with me until I felt more calm.
39. Someone told me I look fit even though I haven't worked out in like three weeks. Maybe they were lying, but it was a nice lie nevertheless.
40. I dropped my pen in class and the girl sitting next to me (who I don't know) picked it up for me.
41. I was walking my dog and my neighbor said "hello!" to me in an especially cheery and friendly way. It sort of made my day.
42. I felt really connected to my friend when we started uncontrollably laughing about something that wasn't really that funny. It just brightened my week.
43. My friend texted me that a song came on that made her think of me.
44. My mom called me all the way from Israel because I told her I was sad.
45. My mom picked me up from the airport at 10:45pm even though she's usually in bed by 8:00pm.
46. My dad retired this week, and he told me all about the retirement party his company threw for him. I think it really meant a lot to him, and it made me really happy to hear about it.
47. Someone told me that they liked my tattoo.
48. I made eye contact with a stranger in the airport terminal and we both smiled huge smiles at each other. It doesn't seem like that usually happens, but it made my day.
49. Yesterday, my friend told me that he felt like he hadn't seen me in a while and he missed me. It was so nice to know that he noticed too, and that he cared as much as I did.
50. My roommate shared her peanut butter with me. She loves peanut butter.
Love always trumps hate.
