Heads-up. This blog post may seem way off-topic. This blog post may even seem as far away as kindest gets. Stick with me through it. You’ll see the kindness.

We were eating dinner at the AMAZING dining commons, just having the time of our life. Every one of us was looking pretty worn out, tired and wet (it was raining outside), but still happy to have a plate of hot (kind of) food and the company of each other.

In the mists of all of this chowing down were some solid conversations on test scores from the previous week, Instagram and Snapchats, and of course, the WHITEOUT game this upcoming weekend. This is where the unkindness comes in.

(Let’s say one of my closest friend’s name is Patrick.)

Patrick was sitting next to me at dinner and pretty much out of nowhere, commented to me, a very harsh, rude, insensitive comment out of nowhere. Now I will not repeat what was said, but merely say it was about being a tryhard overachiever.

Now, I still can’t figure out quite why this pushed my buttons the way it did, but at that moment, I looked away, and tears just started rolling. After being exhausted from 3 back to back exams and so much more on top of that (something all of us can relate to), I couldn’t take it. In truth, I needed to get up, walk away, and breathe but was quite literally trapped between 4 people in the booth. All of us are here for a reason; for education to propel us into whatever is next in life. I know that so many students, especially Schreyer students, try their best and give it all they got to succeed. It’s the mentality, the nature of it all. At that moment, being insulated for my dedicated work ethic, the base of my core shook me.

We left dinner, and it was awkward. About 2 hours later, Patrick’s name appeared as my phone continuously buzzed, a call. Without any introduction, there was one of the most sincere apologies I believe I have ever received in my life. It was whole-hearted, truthfully, and quite frankly kind. Though a thorough explanation of self and no excuse attached, I realized something. How often do people sincerely apologize these days? I feel so often apologizes overlooked and uncommon for “It’s never my fault” is a mentality of the current society.

But genuine and kind apologies go such a long way. It shows true kindness.

Choose Kindness.

With love,

Nina