I am always struck every year when I watch the “CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute” or when someone at my school presents extraordinary service projects. I am very grateful to all those who continue day after day to solve societal problems and are able to better lives for many families. They actually inspired me to develop my own service projects .  

As I reflected further on the topic of kindness, however, I was surprised to feel that in 2020, at my level, it really was the small acts of kindness that made a big difference around me. Connecting emotionally with friends or total strangers seems to have had quite a profound effect these last 18 months. I now understood the value of making an effort to call, to text, to send a package, to send a postcard. I understand that, although we were all in the same pandemic, we were for sure all in different boats and experienced it differently… and simple acts of kindness meant more than you think to different people. I was surprised how very little favors truly helped others feel better and feel happier.

What I have discovered during this pandemic is that the power of personal emotional connections is more important than you think, and the words of Thomas E. Pierce, in his book The Last Rose, capture it perfectly “…each time we make a difference in someone else's life, no matter how small, it will encourage them to do the same for others. And each time that happens, we all become a stronger force for good.”

I had a long conversation with my grand-father whom I have not seen for almost two years now as most of my family lives abroad. We talked about what makes family relationships special, how to foster closeness across oceans, and how easy it was to lose sight of each other. I was left a little empty when I realized how little I knew about my family and I felt a strange urgency to want to get to know them all better. As it turned out, so did they and all it took was a little kindness, some skype calls and people willing to speak with each other!

I was also extremely lucky to have an amazing group of friends during the pandemic and they are the ones that helped me get stronger when things were not so easy.  My friends took care of me, called me, listened to me, distracted me, and a great friend even took me away with their family for a couple of days. That, for me, meant the world. These, for me, are extraordinary acts of kindness: they showed up for me. And when it was my turn to support a friend in need, it felt natural, in tune with what was needed for them. Until then I had not realized the impact one can have by simply reaching out, listening, being there. I will have this with me for a lifetime.