Be Kind Campaign!

We've all done it, maybe even today.

Either to her face, or behind her back, maybe she's the woman you saw on the bus ride into work this morning, or you saw her on a commercial on TV or maybe in an ad in a magazine, or she was the girl you sat next to all semester in that one class.

We've all been cruel to other women, either verbally or physically or perhaps just with a catty thought, we've torn each other down because we felt insecure or inferior or that undefinable less than, we've done it because we've been taught to view other women as a Threat instead of a Sister, to see relationships as competitions instead of camaraderie. We've done it because it was done to us.

But this is our opportunity to change, this is Our Chance to begin again, to build our Sisters up, to lift them up, to care for them, even if they're strangers. To say a Kind word to them instead of something hurtful, to start the healing process.

This is the mission of the Lauren Parsekian and Molly Stroud, who created the Kind Campaign.

In their words:

We all want to be liked. It’s already hard enough to accept ourselves for who we are, let alone accept the perceptions and judgments that other girls have of us. Over the years, the vicious ways in which females treat each other have become societal norms. With various media outlets that mock and even glamorize the issue, it seems that society has simply concluded, "That's the way girls are."

We disagree, because we believe that there is goodness within all females, even if that goodness has been shoved aside by the pressures society has placed upon us. What we fail to realize and choose to ignore is the fact that these experiences very often lead to depression, anxiety, loss of self worth, eating disorders, drug abuse, alcoholism, attempted suicide and actual suicide in millions of girls lives.

Smile at her. Say hello. Hold the door open her as she's carrying bags or children or thoughts of the day. Pick up the book that she accidentally drops. If you like her shoes, compliment them. If she misses a class, offer her your notes. Make sure she's ok. Offer her the seat next to you.

You don't have to be best friends, but it's effortless to be kind.

Begin again today.
Be kind.