Kindness Counts by Erin

Kindness Counts by Erin - July 2018 Scholarship Essay

Greetings Fellow Classmates,

I stand before you today, a candidate for student body president, with a message of hope.

All too often we witness people tearing one another down in order to drag themselves up or make themselves feel better. Let's abolish these unfortunate norms, and replace them instead with a culture of compassion. Let's bring each other up, praise one another, and celebrate one another's accomplishments.

My smile is my greatest strength, and simultaneously, my biggest weakness. When faced with adversity, nerves, or confusion, I always grin. You would never know how uncomfortable I actually am. Some people see this as a weakness because, for some reason, happiness doesn't convey strength in our society. But does a grimace? Can strength and capability really be measured by the unpleasantries of your demeanor? I don't think so. I like to think that when I leave a room, I've left the people in it feeling good about themselves, their experiences dealing with me, and looking forward to working with me again.

We are here in 2018, and it is officially "The Future." It's time for humanity to accept and appreciate without regard to race, religion, creed, or sexual orientation. Let's embrace our oneness to foster an environment of empowerment and a community of free thinkers. We may not change the world today, but as we scatter out into the world after graduation, we can share with the world what we've built here as our foundation together.

Simply put: Be kind.