I apologize for taking so long to get back to posting here. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in my final classes for my Psych and Sociology degrees. I have a final paper due on Monday, and on Tuesday I’ll begin work on my Psych final project. I expect to be just as busy for the next five weeks as I have been for the last five weeks. I have one more class, Creative Writing, and then I’ll be out of school. I’m going to take a break from my studies—I’m exhausted from the work this last Sociology class has required, and I still have my Psych project to complete. In the meantime, my posts here will be sporadic. I promise to do better after the first of the new year. Please bear with me.
Part of the work required for my Sociology capstone project involved writing a hypothetical research proposal. I’m writing about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). I want to tell you about something that happened as I was doing research for the final paper: I came across several references for previous studies done by one of the leading researchers in the field of ASD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); but I wasn’t able to access the reports from the college library site. I took the liberty of sending a FAX to Dr. Angela Reiersen. I asked her if she would be willing to grant me permission to read her articles. Remember, she’s a leading researcher in this field—a FAX from me could easily have been ignored. But, she didn’t ignore my request. She emailed files of all the reports I requested, and even sent two I didn’t ask for, because she thought they might be helpful. I am touched by her kindness to an aspiring psych student. Her generosity is one of the reasons why I believe that kindness still exists in our crazy and so-often-unkind world. I sent another request for an article to Dr. Betsy Hoza, who is also a leading researcher on ADHD and associated behaviors. Within a few days, she emailed me a file of the report I needed to cite in my paper. Another act of goodness and kindness! Their emails just made my day. My paper will be more complete, thanks to their kindness and generosity of spirit.
I try to perform random acts of kindness whenever I have an opportunity to do some small (or big) thing for someone without them knowing where it came from. I love it when I can do my little act of kindness without letting anyone know what I did. Just the activity of giving is fulfilling to me. Being kind works two ways—it makes the receiver happy, and it makes the giver feel great.
If you have a story about a random act of kindness that has been rewarding to you, please tell me about it in the comments.
I think that kindness is one of the main things I look for in a person. It tells me so much about that person and who they are on the inside.
What do you think?
