The other day, while perusing news headlines in order to stay updated on what’s going on in the world, I stumbled upon something incredible. It wasn’t about the current issues in Washington or a new scientific discovery. Rather, it was a story about a simple act of kindness. The story went something like this: a young girl asked her parents for a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks, her favorite fall drink. However, her parents never had the chance to take her, and the girl passed away later that night from a seizure. Thinking of the ways in which they could honor their daughter, the parents went to Starbucks and bought pumpkin spice lattes for the next forty people in line. They also wrote #AJO (their daughter’s initials) on each cup, to make people aware of her story and to hopefully spread acts of kindness.

#AJO soon became a movement on social media. People around the world who had seen or heard of the story started doing their own random acts of kindness and posting them (with the hashtag AJO) on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. According to an article in Today, #AJO participants have bought movie tickets for the people in front of them, paid off layaway bills for people’s Christmas gifts, and even bought meals for others at fast food drive-thrus. #AJO proves that, although these small acts might seem insignificant, we can all make a difference. With the help of many teens like myself, we can continue this movement.

It’s easy for us to be wrapped up in our own lives and forget that there’s a bigger world out there than our own. I get it, trust me. It happens to me too. We all have a lot going on. Nevertheless, after reading an article like this, all of our issues suddenly seem so unimportant.

Paying it forward doesn’t necessarily mean literally “paying” for something. It’s just a random act of kindness, and is as easy as 1,2,3. If we all take a second out of our day and do something nice for someone, such as giving up our seat on the bus to an elderly person, holding the door open for the person after us, asking a person in a wheel chair if they need help reaching something, or sitting with the kid at lunch who seems lonely, we’ll be able to change the world for the better. Together, we can create a world that has more kindness and less evil. Acts such as these then start to become contagious. The #AJO movement spread like wildfire, and in no time the whole nation heard about ways to pay it forward and started going out of their way for others.

Every day I try to do a random act of kindness, and some days the acts are bigger than others. I’ve paid a T fare for the person behind me, and now I make sure to remember to say “thank you” to the bus driver after I get off. Those are just some examples of how I help others, but there are many more.

What will you do to make a difference? How can you help add kindness to the world?

-Laura