Over winter break I went through a bit of a withdrawal from just about everything. I needed a break from school and people and kindly enough my family let me. For the entire month and a half I was able to relax and prepare for the last stretch before summer break; it was heaven. Right before I was meant to fly back to school, my dad pulled me aside and I was able to have a heart to heart with him. One of the things he reminded me was that kind words can fix just about everything. One of my worst bad habits is how awesome I am at comebacks. This however means that I can hurt people pretty deeply with very few words. Over the years I have been able to tame it immensely but every now and then it slips out. Because of the stress of last semester, this habit had been creeping up on me and I was becoming overwhelmed.
My dad is pretty great about bringing me back to earth. He gives me the space I need and then lets me talk it out. Usually, he can get me to see something from a different angle than I had previously. It is pretty easy to notice when other people are treating you badly. It's harder to see how you are treating other's badly. Every now and then I just have to remind myself to take a step back and look at the situation differently. Just because I feel like I'm not being treated fairly does not mean that I have the right to attack. Kind words have done wonders for me in diffusing situations.
One thing I want to challenge you to do is to take a step back. Are there any places in your life that you can lend a kind word? When I walk into my cafeteria, I always try to hold a conversation with the student working the front desk. One of the girls stopped me one time after I asked her how she was and told me that she appreciated the way I always conversed with her. To me, it was of little importance but it made an impact on her. I never realize how much of an impact I can have with just a few words. Angry words are not the only words that stick with people. So my challenge for you is to lend a kind word. Tell the stranger on the street that you dig their sweet sweater. A classmate got a new haircut? Maybe they're self conscious and need someone to tell them how much they rock their new hair. Kind words may seem insignificant to you, but little words here and there could make a huge impact on the world.
