Kinder Kennedy

Today, March 24th, 2016, my school held an assembly. It was an assembly about kindness, which we could all use a little more of.

Two weeks ago we suffered a loss. A freshman girl took her own life. It struck the school like a lightning bolt. There were tears and hugs and an overwhelmingly large amount of support to our freshman class and upperclassmen who knew the student. I didn't personally know her, but I wish I had. From what I've heard and read she was compassionate, kind and had a smile that could light up any room. I wish I had known her because maybe then I could have helped prevented this tragic event.

You can't focus on the "what ifs" in life, they drag you down, you can't go back and change the past. But we get stuck on them, especially when something this tragic happens to someone so young with such a bright life ahead of them.

Suicide is tragic, it affects everyone. Yesterday was the two year anniversary of my stepbrother committing suicide. I knew Jacob, but we didn't see each other often. I was with my mom more and he was with his dad more, so our paths didn't cross much, but when they did I always had fun. I think what hurts the most is seeing how it affects their loved ones. How his mother, my stepmom dealt with the pain and how my half-sister, his half-sister as well dealt with the pain. You just want to hold them and tell them everything is going to be okay. You can't do that though, not when there are so many unanswered questions. So many, "why?"s  and "what could I have done?"s.

This all ties into "Kinder Kennedy" because the student who committed suicide was bullied. Bullying is such an ugly word. It's evil and always has a bad ring to it, even if you're talking about preventing it. That's why we should focus on being kind. We need to focus on the love and the good in the world and not let the evil and hate bring us down.

It's so much easier to love in this world and choose to be happy than it is to focus on the bad and make an effort to be angry.

"It is not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, even- or rather, especially, when we'd prefer not to be." -Josh Radnor

I love this quote. It emphasizes the need to be just to be kind. Without any other motives or interests in mind. Be kind, be loving and be open-minded.

stay peaceful (and always be kind)!!