Pay It Forward: A Positive or Negative Impact on Society? Essay

The short story"Aha Moment" by Julia Alvarez demonstrates that the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. The story expresses the idea that simple acts of kindness can make a great impact on people both mentally and physically. It can turn frightening and tense situations into assurance and aplomb. In paragraph 8, it is stated," no one screamed,no one panicked. I could hear small pockets of soothing conversation everywhere." By holding the hands and by chatting about everyday life, the passengers emboldened each other and created an optimistic atmosphere. The author points out,"someone was comforting me and kept asking me,'Are you okay?" According to Julia if someone does something good and beneficial for you, you should pass

In tenth grade, my English teacher posed the class with a question: what are you going to do for your community? She emphasized the importance of making a positive impact, even if it meant simply smiling as you hold the door open for someone. She prompted us to go out of our comfort zone and do something for our community. While I had been volunteering at Church and at school, I had never really taken a step out of my comfort zone. Instead of just helping out in, say, a soup kitchen, I decided that it was time

Politically, socially, environmentally or one person at a time, how will you give back to society? Day in and day out many citizens change the world, or they do just the opposite and make the world a worse place than when they woke up. The article I chose to review is, “Community Service” written by Robert Coles. The article tells a story of college students who make a difference in the world through peer tutoring, an act of community service, and have such an impact that they act as role models for Coles and he begins to do the same. Briefly in the beginning of the article, Coles states that, “students are likely to express their lofty political and social impulses and practical desires to change the world through community service, even if in limited or modest ways.”(Robert Coles, pg.93) We must make an ultimate decision about the world we live in, will we choose to make a difference in the lives of fellow citizens or discriminate and punish not only them but ourselves by not sharing the knowledge we have been taught.

I wasn’t aware of the importance of doing good for others, until recently that I witnessed it with my own eyes. It all started when was at Chicago, a random man helped out a homeless man and bought him some food. I noticed as I was in line that the cashier then gave the helping man a free choice to pick something he wanted due to the action he did. After that day I began to make an attempt at helping out more and being a better person in general.

There is a quote by Edward Everett Hale that the president of Randolph Community College, Robert Shackleford, states in every one of his speeches: “I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” This quote inspires me to make a change in my community. There is a way to help people in everything you do.

It may not seem like one is making a big difference, but even the smallest acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day. In Stave 2 of A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge how Fezziwig, Scrooge’s old employer, was so kind to his employees. To this act of kindness Scrooge states,”The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.” When Scrooge sees how generous his employer was and what a positive impact he made on others by being generous and giving, it leads Scrooge to change his ways and become a nicer person that has a beneficial impact on others. As Morrie said in the article,“Tuesdays With Morrie: The Eighth Tuesday We Talk About Money”, “Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Moreover, caring for others and spreading kindness not only to oneself but also others, whether it be by donating to charity or just plainly going around and doing a good deed for others, is the key to happiness. No matter what it may be, even the smallest movement of giving can make a big difference in someone’s life. Just by putting a smile on someone’s face, a positive impact on the world has been made. Devoting yourself to something and being a better person will help bring accomplishment and joy to life and make a long lasting impact on those around you. This act of being kind and generous to others will have an everlasting positive impact on not only the receiver, but also the

I have been blessed beyond measure in my life with the love and support of my family. It is because of that love and support that I feel a strong obligation to be the best person I can be by working hard and caring about the world around me. Through my volunteer work, I have participated in many fundraisers, food and clothing drives. However, my greatest personal growth has come from more direct acts of kindness that go largely unrecognized to anyone other than the recipient. My first experience meeting someone in very unfortunate circumstances occurred when my mother suggested we deliver meals for an Atlanta based organization called Open Hands. Open Hands prepares individualized healthy meals for very ill people living on their own. Open Hands conducted training on a

When I was in elementary school, my grandparents would give me and my siblings twenty dollars if we made A-B Honor Roll. In 4th grade, we decided to treat our family by going to the movies, as we had not been to the movies in almost two years. Our idea was my sister and I would combine our forty dollars and buy the tickets and snacks, and we would have some nice family bonding. Until we met The Bike Woman, a homeless woman we encountered in the parking lot. She walked up to us, rolling her old blue bicycle alongside her and asked if we had any spare change. Without even thinking of it, we handed all forty dollars to her, along with three bottles of water we had in a cooler in the car. She thanked us profusely and even tried to give the money

If every person lent a hand to those in need, the world could become a more functional place. I’ve always known this, but it was solidified when I joined National Honor Society. In this club, we have the opportunity to help those around us through community service, and I am so grateful. Just last year the club had the privilege to go to Seattle and hand out food and other supplies that might help members of the homeless population. Moments like these remind me that everyone should strive to make a positive impact on the community. Leaving it better than you found

As individuals we are only a small part of a bigger picture, however we all have the capability of making a huge impact. Two years ago I created a club named Blankets for Hope, an organization that provides warm blankets for the homeless. It began when I decided to volunteer at the Rose Parade. Scattered across the sidewalks and under makeshift tents, were an untold amount of curled up bodies. Although shocking to my eyes, the city’s residents walked past them as if they were just part of the daily scenery. Refusing to accept the site, I was moved to begin Blankets for Hope. While the club is small in size, the impact it had not only the community, but on myself is large.

In the book Pay it Forward, Trevor changed the world for the better, to be a happy, caring, thoughtful world. Trevor showed the power of on more than anyone else for many reasons but mostly because of the reasons above, he changed people's lives, cared about people and stood up against society. After reading this book it makes you wonder what the world would be like if people actively payed it forward and maybe just by doing a few random acts of kindness yourself, you could contribute to the change of the

On December 22, I volunteered with Centre 55 through Minga. Our group put together boxes of food and moved supplies into trucks to be brought to where we would donate them. These boxes had food for a holiday dinner as well as other supplies, that particularly seniors are unable to get themselves. Once we had packed the trucks, we went to a few apartment buildings and brought it to the doors of the people. One challenge was that the boxes were heavy, and we were having a hard time carrying them to people’s doors. My group decided to take turns carrying the heaviest box so that everyone had a chance carrying the lighter bags. When residents of the building saw us, they were happy we were helping out, and this personally motivated me more.

I had seen news stories about random acts of kindness but had never really considered it. This thought it was the best thing in the world, you could visibly see how grateful they were. But the woman who paid, she’s the one I won’t forget. She acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal, like she did it everyday. For her, $11 to help a young, clearly struggling, couple pay for their groceries, wasn’t some big act of kindness that she had to struggle with. She genuinely didn’t realize what was going on until there was $11 left; she told me that if she realized what was happening sooner, she would’ve helped then, but she didn’t

During a few of our classes we have learned about globalization, and a little bit more about the world we are currently in. This lesson entirely introduced me to the new problems that we are faced with today in current society. This lesson has impacted me a lot. I also learned how much donations and little actions can benefit everyone in every way. When we were putting away jackets I thought a while after about all the people who’d have something to wear this winter. The part was that they didn’t have to donate at all, but people continued to do so. It was the same with the food hamper, although we did not get many donations this year, people still had the thought to bring things in. No one was obligated to bring anything in at all, but merely encouraged. These small actions are going to be able to make others lives better.

In the article “The Kindness Of Strangers”, the author, Levine (2006/2007) writes of the helpfulness of strangers. He does extensive research and also performs experiments. He found that in some places of the world people were more likely to help people they do not know than in other places. He explains that environment, socialization, and economics affects how willing people are to help.