A look into the happiest time of the year at Brandeis: Kindness Day

Yvette Cho '19 provides some commentary on Kindness Day: A very Brandeisian celebration.

There are times when life hits you like a wrecking ball and all you can do is put a smile on your face as you brush off the debris: I like to call this college. 

If you couldn’t tell already by that awfully hyperbolic beginning, I’ve been in dire need of some positivity. I might be saying this because I’m writing while on the long bus ride back from Rochester, New York and the final volleyball tournament of my college career, and I’m staring down three exams this week (all within 48 hours of each other). Then again, stress is nothing new to me, so who knows! 

Working hard to achieve a higher education while also dodging all of life’s curveballs can take a toll on anyone. Rarely do we step back as members of the Brandeis community and bask in the ever so glorious city of Waltham and all the positivity it radiates (I mean, it is one of the best places to live in America!) 

Does this sound like I’m about to segue?

Cue Kindness Day: 

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I have the sentimental capacity of a teaspoon. Yet this year, Kindness Day is sweetly calling out my name and reaching out for a warm, loving hug. 

I’m here for you, Kindness Day, and I’m waiting with open arms. 

Maybe this is the senior year in me talking, but this semester seems to be leaving no survivors behind (me included) and boy, is it ruthless. I think it’s about time that I erase the “Pain is Temporary, GPA is Forever” written on my notes and readjust my lenses so I can see all the wonderful things going on outside my textbook. Here is my first encounter with the the kindestday of the year at Brandeis: Kindness Day.

“Kindness: How can that be bad?” asked event co-coordinator Miriam Krugman ’20. “A lot of us have trouble finding the time to appreciate friends, staff and workers on campus and this a great opportunity to do so.” 

The opportunity to show the gratitude that Miriam mentioned was presented more frequently than I anticipated. Throughout the entire week, volunteers handed out blank cards to anyone who wanted to write nice messages to those they appreciate. I find this campus to be quite charming with all of the thoughtfulness students put into planning events like this. 

“The environment at Brandeis is all about inclusivity and doing what you can to be accepting of others,” volunteer Audrey Grotheer ’20 told me. “Kindness is a big part of that because it’s where it all begins.”

Although the cards were great, the tabling was just a prelude to the official Kindness Day, November 8. From eating my bodyweight in apple cider doughnuts handed out by the Community Advisors to partaking in creating the kindness chain, check out what activities that I found myself stumbling across!

There’s no better way to start the day than with a free doughnut and some kindness.A chain created with notes on the kindest thing someone has done for you.Leave a kind note and take a kind note!

In the midst of stressful times, prioritizing self-care reminds you that your needs are important, too! Kindness Day has shown me that making even the smallest effort to incorporate positivity into my schedule can make a huge difference.

So, readers, here is my call to action. You’ve perused what I have written; now go out there and be kind!