Sometimes, it’s the simplest acts of kindness that can make the biggest difference in a person’s life. And while we may often forget this, as busy __parents or jaded adults, it’s often children who remind us — time and time again — of the great power these little gestures hold.
This week, the students at Fremont Middle School in Fremont, Ohio are testament to this very notion. They recently showed an outpouring of love and support to two classmates who lost their mother on Monday by covering their lockers in heartwarming Post-It notes.
The sweet gesture, which was shared on the Facebook page Love What Matters on March 16, has since gone viral.
“The kids took the time to write uplifting messages of love, prayer and support to their sorrowful fellow Eagles,” the caption reads. “It’s moments like this that prove that FMS is the best school in the state for so many reasons. Our entire community mourns. God Bless.”
The post has received over 11K likes and 500 shares (and counting), reminding us all how easy it can be to touch the hearts of those around us who need it most.
One Facebook commenter shared her own personal experience with grief as a child, and how her classmates rallied around her, sharing: “When I was 8 my Dad passed away from cancer. My classmates made me cards and sent me a plant in a kitty vase. I’m 63, and I still treasure that precious vase.”
This isn’t the only story that’s gone viral after students came together for an incredible act of kindness.
Earlier this year, students at Muhlenberg College set up a GoFundMe page so that their dining hall employee, Awa, would have enough money to visit her family in Senegal, Africa. The school reached their goal of $10K in just six days, insisting that it was “a testament to Awa.”
And following the 2016 election, the student body at one Michigan high school covered their campus in colorful and encouraging Post-Its in what they established as their own #PassOnThePositivity movement. The notes included simple yet inspiring messages like, “If you can dream it, you can do it,” and “Love yourself.”
There was even a “Wall of Positivity” erected at the school, which including the hand-written messages alongside a quote by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that could not feel more fitting in our current social and political climate: “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fibers of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”
Stories like these ones — and so many more — prove just what we can do when we pull together and support one another. But they also show just how much we have to learn from the next generation. As parents, we try our best every day to teach lessons of kindness and compassion; and we hope against hope that the lessons are sticking.
If the kids in these stories are any indication, it appears they certainly are.