Two weeks ago I walked into the girl’s bathroom in the science hallway. (I know right, that’s a good way to start a column) I was surprised to find at least 20 Post-it notes stuck all over the place. They read:

• “You were created to be an original, Don’t be a copy.”
• “Love people for their imperfections; don’t hate them because they are real.”
• “Fierce!”
• “‘You is kind, you is smart, you is important!’- The Help”
• “Believe in yourself.”
• “Keep calm and be you.”
• “You are loved.”
• “Be your own kind of beautiful.”

There were many more, but those were some of my favorites.

When reading these, I thought to myself, “Oh my gosh, this kind of stuff actually happens? That’s so awesome.” 

About a month ago, my mother went through the McDonald’s drive thru and ordered her usual, unsweetened tea.When she pulled up to the first window to pay, the cashier told her, “the person in front of you already payed for your drink, the woman said ‘have a wonderful day’.”

When mother got home, she told me about the act of kindness the woman had done. Again, my reaction was: “That’s so awesome!”

I am a person to appreciate little acts of kindness like the Post-its. All of the encouraging notes made me smile, and I knew I had to write a column about them. They made my day.

I wish I could be the person to go out of my way and make another person’s day a little brighter. It hadn’t occurred to me how much acts of kindness, like the Post-its, could change someone’s entire mood.

I was one of those people. My mood went from just average to happy, all because I read all of the cute-sy notes on the bathroom walls, stalls, dryers and mirrors.

Encountering the Post-its also made me want to be the person who went out of their way to put a smile on someone’s face. I want to be the person responsible for someone else’s happiness.

So when I get food from somewhere, I’ll get my friend a drink and surprise her with it. Or when I have extra time, I’ll write a really long and thoughtful note to someone and give it to them.

I think it’s important to recognize acts of kindness because they don’t happen often (at least not in my world) and I think it’s important to give credit to the people who took time out of their day to make a stranger smile.

I want to say thank you to Redefining Beautiful for putting up the Post-its. Not only did they make my day, but I’m sure they made many other girls’ days, too.