Rain's Pay it Forward

Part 1

What is "Pay it forward"? 

Pay it forward is a powerful act in which you do a kind act for either someone you know or for a complete stranger. It all starts with an individual, you. What you do is you do something kind for someone and rather than having them pay you back, they pay it forward. They'll do something kind for someone else, and then that person pays it forward to, and then it escalates from there. You only need to do something small to create something big. It's possible one small act of kindness from one person can spread and affect a whole community. It doesn't matter what you do; little or big, you'll be changing someone's life one way or another, and that will inspire them to change someone else's life. And there will be no asking for anything in return, because maybe the good deeds will reach you back in that long chain you or someone else started. Pay it forward is a powerful and beautiful movement that will make a lot of lives better.

Part 2

What was your Pay it Forward act of kindness?  

I've chosen to do two things. The first act of kindness I decided to do was to donate some of my old stuffed toys, books, clothes, and shoes. I chose to do this because, for one, I don't even need them anymore, but I know there are some children out there who would appreciate them, put a smile on their face. I went to Value Village and dropped off the items there. I left a note inside the bag explaining Pay it Forward, in case the worker there didn't quite understand my stammer. I did this only this weekend, as I had to hunt around the house for a few of the items I donated. 

My second act was to simply write a thank you letter to my 6th grade teacher from Clifton, Mr. Di. He's one of the most important and influential people I've met and I just wanted him to know how important he is to me; how he's changed my life. So I grabbed a pen and paper, wrote him a letter about how amazing he is and how thankful I am of the life lessons he taught me. I also bought him a little box of ladybug-shaped chocolates. I'm hoping that the gift will bring him a little warmth and relief from all the stress he has from being a teacher, and to remind him that he's done so much for me.  I also attached a little water colour painting of a bird with it. 

Part 3
How did your act of kindness go?

Donating the items went pretty well. I talked to one of the workers after I put the items into the box and told them about pay it forward. Even though she wasn't exactly the one I was doing the kind act for, I asked if she would be kind enough to pass on the chain and pay it forward to someone else. The worker said she'll make sure to do something kind for someone. It felt quite awkward to do that because I didn't really do anything for her in particular but I'm glad she decided to pass on the kindness. I felt pretty good knowing my donations would make someone happy. As for my letter to Mr. Di, I didn't get a chance to see him, since I only sent the letter to him via my neighbor/one of his students. In my letter to him, I explained Pay it Forward in the letter, in hopes he would pay it forward to someone else. I'm planning on visiting him sometime soon.

Part 4

Why is the idea of "Pay it Forward" important?

The idea of pay it forward is important because people need to realize that if they just do one simple kind act, it can make a whole lot of people happy. They also need to realize how important they themselves are in the world. These days a lot of people are stressed or tired or just having trouble with life. This movement can inspire people to do something big that would change lots of lives for the better, especially for this holiday season. Everyone deserves to happy and Pay it Forward has the potential to do that, as long as the people taking part in it are just willing to take action.

I'm really not sure but I'm positive my act of kindness will make a difference for a number of children. And for a really cool guy. 

This has been my Pay it Forward experience. I'm not going to stop here, though. There'll be lots of other opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others.