NAME: CHRIZLYN G.

PENALES

COURSE & YEAR: BEED1

ACTIVITY B

When I was in my Elementary grade, I used to read story books whenever I have free time or after school
and sometimes that I would rather spend most of my time reading stories than playing outside every weekends. Reading
book of stories makes me entertain. I have a lot of favorite books of stories but the best one that I have read and I
always read it several times, that up until now I can’t forget, because of its lesson that I've learned from the book. The
story “Be kind” by: Pat Zietlow Miller. In this book you will learn and can reflect to yourself, what does being kind mean
to you. Does being kind mean helping someone out when they need it? Or being kind can be, being generous to your
brother and sister? sharing and caring for them and just by being gentle, also being considerate?

Way back Senior High school days. Every Friday we have our PE class and everyone in the class are obliged to
wear our PE uniforms as part of the attendance. That time one of our friend forget to bring her PE uniform, we already
know that unable to wear PE uniform during PE class, mark as absent. Before the time of our PE class my classmates and
I are getting ready and wore our uniforms but only one did not, our friend, let's call her “thea” for short. Me and my
friends don’t want thea to feel that she’s left behind and not able to join the activity that time during our PE class, so
what me and friends did is to not wear our uniforms. Our teacher did not let us execute in the activity and mark us
absent, as well as we’re not allowed to go to the gym, where the activity is conducted. We felt a bit sad and wanting to
participate in the activity, but we really don’t want to let our friend thea, to feel that she’s being left behind.

What does it mean to be kind anyway? What does it mean to be kind to you? Or what does it mean, for
someone to be kind to you? Maybe it’s giving, making cookies for our friend, who lives alone. Letting someone with
smaller feet have my too-thigh shoes, we might win races in them, too. Maybe it's helping, putting dirty dishes in the
sink. Like, helping mom clean up after yourself, picking up your laundry, making your bed. Maybe it’s paying attention,
telling my friend “Kaleen” I like her new tuscany bag, asking someone in class to be my partner in some activities.
Listening to aunt Rita’s stories even the ones I've heard before. Being kind could also be, saying nice things about
someone, complementing someone, telling your mom that she looks so pretty today and picking her flowers. Being kind
should be easy. Like, throwing away a wrapper and recycling a bottle or saying “Thank you”, “bless you”. My mother
says, the quickest way to be kind is to use people’s names “hey! Cayla”, “what’s new Tyrone?”. Being kind can be hard
too. Even when you know what to do. Teaching someone something I'm good at is tricky, even when I'm patient. Being
kind could be also, sharing with your siblings and sticking up for someone when others aren’t kind is really hard and
really scary.

Maybe I can’t help my mother solve our problems. Maybe all I can do is to be with her and show how much
I love her. Maybe I can only do small things, but my small things might join small things other people do and together
they could grow into something big. That’s why the story “Be kind” rent free in my mind because of the lessons learned
from it. Something really big, so big that all our kindness spills out of our school, spread throughout town. Travels
around the country and go away around the world. If everyone is kind, the whole world would be a big bubble of
kindness. Isn't it cool? Being kind again and again.