YouTube Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJ94-yxd20
GTA (acts of kindness coca-cola)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMwoexR1evo
Liberty Mutual Ad (third person)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4
Free Hugs Campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uihDAE7BETs
Homeless (Don't Almost Give, Give)

Eighth Grade Graduation Movie

Last night my friend from Loyola, who also went to St. A's with me called and asked if I had our eighth grade graduation movie for a project. It was around 10:30 and I had other things to do but instead of taking the easy way out and saying I did not have it, I told her I would look for it. It ended up being in my room and I found it after about fifteen minutes. She came to get it and just taking the time to look for it and help her out with a project was a great feeling. I hope she did well!

Traffic

On Saturday, I was driving on Ridge during rush hour. I just let a car come onto Ridge from Washington. This act of kindness was not much but the woman waved at me and I smiled and waved back. That one second of contact allowed me to show her that I cared and let her get on her way a little faster. It also made me happier because I always dislike, especially in rush hour, when another driver does not let me in. It is a simple yet courteous and kind action that shows the other person you have acknowledged them. Why not? It only takes a couple seconds but can last a whole lot longer.

Train Seat

The Metro can get really busy and one car that I was on was packed at one point. I was sitting down near the door of the train car. When the train gets that busy you often are glad you're the one sitting and not the one being pushed around or squashed in between two people's bags. Although this was the case I noticed an old woman standing a couple feet from me. I did not know when she was getting off but I tapped her on the back and made a signal like would you like to take my seat. She was reluctant at first but after a couple seconds nodded yes. I stood up, held onto a railing, and let her take it so she could be more comfortable. We said a couple words to each other and smiled. It was a small act especially because I was getting off in a couple stops anyways but I know that the woman was grateful to not have to be standing in that crowd of people...and when I got off she was still there.

Gave a Compliment

While shopping (which we did a lot of) and I was definitely bored of at times. I really do not like shopping too much but anyways...I liked a shirt that a woman was wearing. Everyone has such neat, unique style in New York. I was right next to her in a store and made eye contact with her and complimented it. It seemed like she was actually thrown off by my compliment and was not expecting it but smiled at me and said, "oh thanks!" Making contact with her and saying something positive to her made us both smile and while still in the store about five minutes later she was still smiling! It was a great feeling even if it was as simple as saying something like, "I really like your shirt." Everyone should try giving someone a compliment a day...but make it genuine.

Fallen Clothes

While walking down a New York street there are many vendors selling different things. One of these was a smaller table with baby clothes that said things having to do with New York. I had no interest in this but saw that around three shirts were knocked on the ground (which is a dirty and busy area with people constantly walking.) The vendor selling the shirts was also gone. I just bent down and picked up the shirts from the sidewalk which many people were walking over and possibly on. I arranged them so they would be seen and then kept on walking. I never saw the vendor and do not know if he or she knew they were on the ground but I am sure they would have appreciated my small gesture.

Carrying a Heavy Suitcase

There was an older woman who looked like she was having trouble with her suitcase going down the stairs of the Metro. When I saw this I asked if she would like help carrying it down the stairs. She quickly said something like, "oh yes that would be great." I lifted it up and carried it down until the bottom where she said something like, "that was so kind thank you so much." I said you're welcome and we went our separate ways but I did something that I felt good about and was complimented by saying I was kind...exactly my intention. And it only took a good thirty seconds but made me feel happy and like I did something which actually helped her!

New York

Over spring break from (Monday April 6-Thursday April 9) I went to New York with my mom and sister. It was so much fun and while there I did four acts of kindness. I also took some pictures and posted them to my Flickr site.

One of them (or a couple of them) are of this sign which my mom found a week before in New York which is hanging from a building or apartment. It was amazing to see and I thought it was going to be a piece of paper but instead was a bigger piece of wood painted all different colors and said, "If we all do one random act of kindness daily we just might set the world in the right direction."

I also noticed many people doing and talking about acts of kindness.
One of these were all of the people who helped my mom, sister, and I with directions when they saw we were looking at a map. One woman actually took the time to walk with us a little bit and bring us to where we wanted to be. Another time while on the Metro we heard two men talking about acts of kindness...I do not really remember their conversation in detail but it was really neat.

Also we went to visit my mom's friend from college and they gave me these New York Times articles called the Metropolitan Diary where New Yorkers write about their day. A lot of these were of acts of kindness in some way...a woman in a coffee shop tells another woman to sit down and tell her her story this woman is speaking to everyone in the coffee shop about her problems.

Collage is Done!

I finished the collage yesterday. It took awhile, a lot longer than I thought to glue everything down, but I like it a lot. It was sort of annoying too because my hands kept getting sticky from the glue and everything kept moving around but it was fun! I am glad I did a collage and maybe I will do more creative/artsy acts of kindness now. I hope my friend likes it too : )

Collage

The past two days I have been working on a collage for one of my friends. I know what friend I will give it to but I am going to make it a surprise. I have cut out a lot of words and cute designs for it but I think I still want more. The problem is I ran out of magazines...my mom has about three or four more and is coming back from New York tonight...so I will get those and finish hopefully tomorrow (put it together and everything!) It is really fun and I have to say I am not the most creative person but you do not really need to be to do this. It is fun to look for things that I think she will like and inside jokes etc. I am excited to get it finished....

: ) SMILE Poem : )

Today, I hung up a poem titled SMILE from "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul" in the Student Center at ETHS. I had it enlarged (2ftX3ft) at Quartet and it came out really nice. It is on glossy paper and I think it will grab people's attention! When I hung it up a couple people had already started reading it or read it. I was afraid, and my only concern is, that people will not respond to it on the notecards I left but I asked my friend's already reading it if they thought people would respond to it and if they would and they said, "Oh yeah I do not think that will be a problem!" This was great to hear because if this succeeds with people responding to it this could definitely be a good advantage to my project. It is also pretty big and white so I am guessing that people will walk over and see what it is. At least I know that people will read it. Here is the poem and check out my Flickr site if you want to see pictures:

Smile
She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.
He remembered past kindness of a friend
And wrote him a thank you letter.
The friend was so pleased with the thank-you
That he left a large tip after lunch.
The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip,
Bet the whole thing on a hunch.
The next day she picked up her winnings,
And gave part to a man on the street.
The man on the street was grateful;
For two days he'd had nothing to eat.
After he finished his dinner,
He left for his small dingy room.
(he didn't know at that moment
that he might be facing his doom)
On the way he picked up a shivering puppy
And took him home to get warm.
The puppy was very grateful
To be in out of the storm.
That night the house caught on fire
The puppy barked the alarm.
He barked till he woke the whole household
And saved everybody from harm.
One of the boys that he rescued
Grew up to be President.
All this because of a simple smile
That hadn't cost a cent.

Chipotle Burrito...yummy

Today, before I came home from school I went to Chipotle. My act was pretty random and bolder on my part from what I normally am used to. There was a man asking for money outside of Chipotle (who my friend said is always there) when I walked in. I ordered a burrito (which was huge) and only ate half of it. On the way out I had it in my backpack and the man was still asking for money. I kept walking to my friend’s car thinking I should do something until I decided to take the risk. I turned around and opened my backpack handing him the uneaten half of my burrito while simultaneously asking him if he would like it. He smiled and looked me in the eye and said something like, “thank you so much.” I am glad he was not offended by my act and gladly took it. I figured he might want half of a filling burrito versus a quarter, and I was right. I said something like, “you're welcome, I am pretty full anyways. Hope you enjoy it,” and went and got into my friend’s car.
I loved this act of kindness because it was really random for both me and the man and once again I was filled with a sense of happiness and energy. I loved that this feeling came from something that was completely my choice and a second before I had no idea I was going to do this. I kept thinking things like, “wow, I just took the risk of being rejected and instead was accepted. I also know he will get a lot more from that half of a burrito than I will. The look on his face was amazing…I wish I could have taken a picture.” Then I thought, “oooo I am not going to be able to take a picture of it at all.” For now, I will just find a picture from online and when in downtown Evanston again I will take a picture of Chipotle…and maybe the man will be standing outside. I am happy I did this today and learned that I need to take advantage of these random, spontaneous times I can do acts because they can be just as great and even more meaningful than if I have them planned!

Holding Doors

This week I have made an effort to hold doors open for other people, whether they are holding a lot of things or not. I liked this act of kindness because it is a little thing but really shows you realize and recognize that they are there...versus pulling it open and letting it close on them or slam in their face. I definitely love it when other people hold doors open for me and make the effort because it shows they are acknowledging you. And when other people let the door slam in my face I hate it. This little act allows you to make contact with another person and show that, in a way, they exist (by saying "hi" and smiling as well). For the person holding the door I think it gives them a positive happy feeling and I know that when other people hold the door for me I thank them and end up smiling as well. It is just a small, easy, fast way to make contact with a person and show you care about them.

Leaving Comments and Posts

Hey everyone.

I have realized you can't post to my blog...but you can leave comments. Please write ANYTHING you like about acts of kindness: like what you have done, what you think about them, what you have seen, what I have done and my project, by leaving a comment under one of my posts. Your comments do not just have to be about my acts of kindness and what I have done or that specific post of mine.

I would love to and need to hear from as many people as possible on anything related to my project for it to be successful! Thank you so much. Can't wait to hear what you have to say and what you have exerienced as well.
~Meaghan : )

Pictures

View my updated acts of kindness and pictures on my Flickr site....to the left....below the websites

Lunch

Yesterday, my friend said that she didn't have a lunch or money for lunch. I gave her some money so she could get some food and would not be hungry the whole day.
Also, today I left some change in the vending machine at school so the next person to find it could use it to buy themselves a treat. These are just little things that I have done the past days and I think that they made someone happy...or just less hungry!

Books I Have Read So Far

Every book I have read so far has given me insight into kindness and what it truly is. These books are great for learning the basics of kindness in general as well as acts of kindness and how to perform them. They have personal experience, stories, scientific and psychological reasoning, and legends to help explain everything there is to know about kindness and helping others.

1. The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benifits of Leading a Compassionate Life
by: Piero Ferrucci

2. Practice Random Acts of Kindness: Bring More Peace, Love, and Compassion into the World
by: the editors of random acts of kindness, Conari Press

3. Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research that Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Live
by: Stephen Post, PhD, and Jill Neimark

4. A Short Course in Kindness: a little book on the importance of love and the relative unimportance of just about everything else
by: Margot Silk Forrest

5. The Healing Power of Doing Good: The Health and Spiritual Benefits of Helping Others
by: Allan Luks

YEA Cards

My cards came yesterday! I was so happy. They are so cute and colorful. I love them...I am so excited to start handing them out. My mom actually took some today to put places and hand to people because she is going to card stores and so she's going to put them on the shelves and everything. I got two hundred, like I said, and they come in a really neat plastic box too.

Cookies

On Tuesday I baked cookies to hand out at school on Wednesday. As usual it didn't make as many as I wanted because everyone always wants them. I would ask, "Do you want a cookie?" The person replied with, "YEAH! Can I have another one too?" So they are popular. And I also didn't burn them which was good because I normally burn at least one trays worth which wastes about twelve. This time I kept my eye on them while they were baking. I brought them to school and tried to save them for the whole day...they lasted until fifth period which was better than the last time I did this. That time they lasted till third period. I always love handing out cookies (chocolate chip) because I know that most people love them and cookies always make people happier!

My Cards

My cards should be coming this week in the mail. This will help my project a lot because I will be able to receive feedback about my acts and kindness in general and get my blog page out there. I ordered 200 and they are really cute!

Snowy, Icy Cars

This weekend it snowed...I hope this ends soon considering it is March. I am more of a warm and summery-ish person. Anyways, the windshield of my car was snowy and icy and the wipers would not move. This was pretty annoying because I had somewhere to be, not that important, and it was cold. I scraped this ice off of my car (or my families) and while I was at it also scraped the ice off of my dads (without him asking I should add), and some other cars on my street. It was annoying for me to have to come out of my house and find that my windshield wipers would not move because they were stuck. I chose to take time from my day and help a couple other people not have to deal with this annoyance or cold. I knew I was helping my neighbors, not necessarily which ones, in a good way. Even if they were not going to use their cars that day I stopped them from having that much more snow and ice on their cars. Again, it was a little act and took maybe five to ten minutes to scrape off about three cars but I know it was worth it.

Parking Meters

Over the weekend I have done smaller acts of kindness. Every time I have seen an empty meter I have put a quarter in it (twenty minutes). This I want to believe has helped.
In the books and articles I have read so far they have talked about choosing how you perceive the act has helped or what it has given the reciever. In the book, A Short Course in Kindness: a little book on the importance of love and the relative unimportance of everything else, by Margot Silk Forrest she explains that we should be able to perceive how our acts have helped. She says, of her own gift to a homeless man, "I was not only able to choose what to do, I was able to choose how I felt about it. I had the power to decide that my gift would be used well." She also talks about how maybe the act would not be used well but she says, "does it matter? Not if I have chosen what I will take away from the experience: a sense of accomplishment at having taken right action" (59).
I choose to believe that my actions have helped. You never know when that City of Evanston (or whatever city you live in) parking person will come and give you a $10 ticket, maybe more, for having run out of time. And to think that you have to pay that for what could have been an extra twenty-five cents put into the meter, so that is what I have done to hopefully allow a person to not pay that $10. I did not necessarily get that same level of happiness that I did from putting up the signs, but it was great to know that I helped someone in a smaller way, and it only took about a minute. This is what I hope to teach and learn, that kindness can come in the littlest of ways and still have a big impact.

Bright and Happy Signs

Today I performed my first act! If anyone sees the bright, colorful signs in downtown Evanston that say things like "Simply Smile," or "Caution: No Negative Thoughts," those are mine. It was great to finally be doing an act of kindness. I have been reading a lot about how you get a "helper's high" type feeling that releases dopamine when you perform or give an act of kindness.
One example of this is seen in the book The Healing Power of Doing Good, by Allan Luks, when he describes this rush of happiness. One person stated about helping others, "It was like taking a drug. And believe me, I knew what a drug high was. Except this one lasted far longer" (5). Luks also states that altruism does in fact enhance the giver's health. Helping others and the positive feeling you receive comes in stages. He says, "It begins with a physical high, a rush of good feeling. It involves physical sensations that strongly indicate a sharp reduction in stress and the release of the body's natural painkillers, the endorphins. The initial rush is then followed by a longer-lasting period of emotional well-being" (10).
This helper's high definitely happened to me, and my friend Cailin who helped me put them up ALL over downtown. At first, I was a little skeptical and self-conscious about what people would do or say and was not sure where to put them. I also was pretty tired and hungry. By the third one (there are about twenty-five) Cailin went ooh I'm just so happy. And I was like, "yeah me too!" And I explained to her what I had read and everything about it making you happy. I also went from being sort of shy about it and putting them up quietly to shouting out places to put them, "oh let's put one by the library over there, or on that pole, no what about on that building!" We were running and having fun. I also was not tired at all and was laughing, smiling, and by the time we sat down at Noodles to eat I was not even that hungry. My whole outlook and thinking about the day and in general became more positive and the warm weather probably helped as well. I was more care-free and even talking to people, anyone, was easier. Saying, "Hi," to people with a huge smile on my face was way easier than normal because I already had a huge real smile plastered on my face. When we put them up two people asked me what they were for. I explained and they both smiled and said, "good luck." The sign we put up by Le Peep also sort of made a scene because we saw my friend's sister who also asked what it was for. I told her about the acts of kindness and as I was talking to them and Cailin was staple gunning them to a cardboard sign that was already up I saw people turn around to look who were headed the opposite way, and smiles spread across all of their faces! PERFECT...exactly what I set out to do! Pictures of them are posted on the Flickr site too which you can get to from my blog page on the left hand side!

Hey

This is my first blog! I am still at the beginning of my project but I hope to spread acts of kindness through my blog and make them known.