All throughout my life, my parents have drilled the idea of kindness into my head, telling me that you never know what is going on in someone else’s life. I have always been told not to be the person that makes someone’s difficult life, more difficult.

I’ve come to realize that it really is about the simple things, like holding a door for example. Nothing is worse than when you’re right behind someone and they just let the door slam shut behind them. When this happens, it makes you feel invisible. Just by doing the simple task of holding the door open for the person behind you, you’re showing them that you have recognized them.

Often times when I’m out in public or entering the school, I find myself running in attempt to catch a door that the person in front of me let close. I find this quite frustrating because it is such an easy, kind gesture. By holding open the door for someone, you are showing them that you want to make their life a little bit easier, even if it is in such a simple way.

Kindness is the most important trait for humans to show. If you are kind to others, then soon enough you will receive kindness back. If you hold the door for person behind you, they don’t have to take the effort to open the door.  If everyone held the door for the person behind them, then over time you would have the door held open for you about as often as you held the door for others, and overall everyone would spend less effort opening doors. Far too many people believe that their small acts of kindness don’t impact others lives, but they are very wrong.

When you’re having a bad day, even if it seems to you like your world is ending and there’s nothing that can fix it, your mood can always be improved by others being kind to you. Everytime that I walk through a door, I like to make sure that there is no one behind me before letting it close. By doing this, it has made me think more about how others are feeling, which has overall made me a better person.

Although it is such a small act of kindness, it is very important to hold the door opened for the person behind you.