Kindness is a Catalyst
New Head Prefect, Mali (Year 11) made her first speech in the Principal’s Assembly on Tuesday, focusing on fostering compassion and the big impact of small gestures.
Each week, our student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.
If there’s one thing about me, I bite my fingers.
I don’t mean that I have a little nibble on my fingernails every now and then, no, I mean no matter how nervous I am, or how full I’m feeling, I love nothing more than to chomp and to chew on my fingers.
This is a habit I’ve possessed since I was in Year 1, and my New Year’s resolution every year since then has been to stop the “nibbilage”, and every year, consecutively, for 11 years, I have failed.
Now, despite my decade's worth of failure, I’ve still tried to beat my habit in many ways, from band-aids to horrible-tasting nail polish. However, recently I have started to ask for the encouragement and the support of others around me.
This may come in the form of a tap on the wrist, or a four worded scold, “stop biting your fingers”, anything possible to call me out on my habit.
I’d like to send a special shout out to Dr Thompson, who, in every Biology class shouts, “fingers are not food!”, whenever she sees my hands moving towards my mouth.
For the first time, I have asked for the help of others around me, and for the first time, I have seen a change in the nibbling of my fingers.
These small actions of others have truly changed me for the better.
It might sound like I am blowing this issue out of all proportion, because how much can these minute actions really mean?
A small tap on the shoulder to get my hand out of my mouth may not seem like much, but to me, it means the world. It’s a reminder that I am not alone in facing my challenges and that there are always kind people willing to help.
We, all too often, underestimate the influence we have on other people and their lives. We underestimate the power of our words, the gravity of our actions, and the impact of our gestures. We underestimate our ability to enact change. However, your acts of kindness, compassion, and empathy, have an extraordinary ability to truly impact others.
Every person you encounter carries their own burdens, and your small act of kindness may be the thing to shift their perspective.
A simple smile has the power to brighten someone’s day, a helping hand can lift a heavy burden, and a word of encouragement can simply remind someone they are not alone.
Now, I admit, it’s easy to overlook the significance of these actions, as we often dismiss them, as negligible in the grand scheme of things. But, if there’s one thing I want to stress to you, it’s that these actions are anything but insignificant. Every small act of kindness has the power to create big change.
So, let’s put our “hands in”, let us embrace the power of our small kind actions together. Let us cultivate compassion in everything we do, as together, with our “hands in”, we can create a community where kindness is the norm.
Whether it’s a tap on the wrist or a four-worded reminder, you have the power to make a difference, one small act of kindness at a time.