My parents raised me well, like I often mention. It is the right thing to do to care about people and put others before yourself. But people often forget that I need help too. It seems assumed that because I am off helping everyone else, I am OK myself, which is the furthest thing from the truth.

I believe our minds work differently and some mature faster than others based on personal experiences (and that is not to say those people are better than anyone else). I’m simply saying that I don’t have it all figured out either. I am nice because it is the right way to be, especially in today’s society. But that in no way means that I am weak.

My kindness is not a weakness. My kindness should not be taken for granted. I know many people who are purely genuine. And I can speak for all of us when I say that we will break at one point. Because something as rare genuineness, especially in this society should not be taken for granted. Sure we have a choice not to be nice, but it does not feel morally right to us. In fact, the thought disgusts us. So the second we say no to people, they get mad. And what do we do? We apologize?! For what?! Why? Because somehow people see our kindness as a weakness – as vulnerability. And they use it against us. And that’s worse than us saying no.

We try to constantly bring light into this world because it’s so dark with negativity. We give so much of ourselves because we feel like that is our purpose here on this earth. For the people who are kind, we all know the feeling. It’s a calling. It’s a passion. It’s fire burning through our heart and we feel the need to give. When a person collecting money for charity comes around to you and you see you only have a 10 and a 50, you don’t apologize and give them nothing. We give them the 10.

We don’t go small. We don’t do half. We do it all. We go all in. And sometimes we forget that in doing so, we drain ourselves. But what drains us the most is people who take advantage of us.

My kindness is not a weakness. My kindness is a strength. My kindness is a piece of my personality. My kindness is my heart and soul. My kindness is wisdom. My kindness is pure. My kindness is everything but weak. My kindness is what will continue to make the world a better place. And trust me, I’ve learned whom to give it to.