Rachel Conway, Sam Konieczka, Ashley Ruemmler
5th hour
February 9, 2011
Persuasive Essay
Random acts of kindness are performed every day whether it is in the form of someone opening
the door for a person in front of them, or a stranger’s smile at the grocery store. It is human nature to
be selfish and sometimes think of your needs over the needs of others. Our goal is to perform random
acts of kindness in the hopes that it will inspire people to pass the love on to others in the community.
We believe that you do not have to perform an over the top heroic act to make a difference in
someone’s life.
The movie “Pay It Forward” was one of our inspirations for this project. It focused on a boy who
planned to help three people and then encouraged them to go out and help three more people. His
hope was to have the kindness spread so far that soon enough the world would become a better place.
This little boy’s simple idea turned into a huge movement of people “paying it forward” across the
country. The movie is inspiring because it defends our opinions on simple acts of kindness and how they
can have huge impacts. Paying for another’s meal at a restaurant, hanging up inspirational quotes
around town, and donating clothes to the Salvation Army; none of these actions are necessarily worldchanging but we are hoping that they will make a big enough impact to inspire others to continue
spreading the kindness.
It has been proven that a simple act of kindness can positively impact someone’s life. The
organization To Write Love on Her Arms is a great example of kindness saving people’s lives. The
organization began with a few people desperate to help their friend recover from drugs and depression.
Renee was a nineteen year old suffering with depression and a drug addiction. She was on the verge of
killing herself when a few friends stepped in and helped her find the help she needed. They published
her story on MySpace and sold t-shirts to raise enough money to send her to a rehab facility. What
started out as a few people helping one friend has now turned into a worldwide organization that helps
spread hope and love. The organization gives people hope and they are there to help those who need it.
They stress that everyone is meant to love and be loved. The organization is a great example of a chain
of kindness and how a little kindness can be life changing in a person’s life.
These two examples, along with a few other texts and ideas, are what motivated us to use
simple random acts of kindness for our project. The sum of these small actions could potentially add up
to a big change in our community, and even bigger, our world. Our actions won’t change things right
away, but we hope to inspire others to be motivated and happy with their lives. The more people that
are ready to make changes, the faster our world will become a better place. We plan on volunteering at
animal shelters, working with a children’s after school program, leaving encouraging and inspirational
notes in public places, donating to the Salvation Army, and more. We hope to inspire others and change
the world. It needs to start somewhere, so why not start somewhere you least expect it?