Kindness Opens Hearts and Lives

When I first came to Stanstead at the beginning of Grade 9, I was scared of being away from my family for the first time. I distinctly remember that first night in Webster House; crying that I wanted to go back to my home, to my support system, and to everything I was used to. I was in a new school, in a new country, and I felt really alone.

But what I quickly learned was that I would never be alone. 我遇到了一些了不起的人，他们会竭尽全力帮助别人, and they really changed me for the better. 其中有一个叫辛迪的级长，她是住在韦伯斯特的12年级学生. She took me under her wing, making sure that I was always included in activities, even though I was three years younger than her. I quickly became much more talkative throughout the year because of her kindness towards me; I felt much happier and more confident. Before Stanstead, I always thought I was a shy introvert, but I quickly realized that in a community full of kind, caring and supportive people, 事实上，我比我想象的要自信得多.

Cindy showed kindness by including me in activities, but kindness doesn't always have to be like that. 善良可以仅仅意味着友好和慷慨，而不期望回报. 只要你让别人感觉更好，你就是善良的. This can be as easy as giving a compliment about someone's hair, 或者像帮助另一个国家的人一样困难.

善良可以有多种形式，这在这个故事中得到了很好的体现 The 给 Tree by Shel Silverstein. In the book, there is a young boy who finds an apple tree. As a child, he enjoys playing with the tree by climbing it, swinging from its branches, and eating its apples. As the boy ages, he spends less and less time with the tree, only coming when he wants material goods. 每次小男孩来，树都会把自己的一部分送给小男孩，让他开心. 当这个男孩十几岁的时候，他拿着苹果去卖钱. When he was a young man, he took the branches to build a house. And when he was an old man, he took the trunk to build a boat. At every point, the tree was happy to be of help to the boy. At the end of the story, 然而, the boy returned as an elderly man, 这棵树很伤心，因为它不能像过去那样提供东西了. 这个男孩, 然而, was truly grateful, 因为留下的树桩是他坐下来休息疼痛身体的最佳地点. 故事的结尾，男孩对树的帮助心存感激, 这棵树很感激它在一生中做了这么多.

我希望你从这个故事中学到的是，不要放弃，直到你一无所有, rather give help and kindness whenever you can, for as long as you can.

To quote Maya Angelou, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." So when you leave here today, challenge yourself to be kind to three different people, because people will always remember how they were treated, and they will continue to treat others in the same way.