善良打开心灵和生命

当我第一次来到斯坦斯特德的时候是九年级初, 第一次离开家人让我很害怕. I distinctly remember that first night in Webster House; crying that I wanted to go back to my home, 致我的支持系统, 以及我所习惯的一切. 我在一个新的学校，一个新的国家，我感到非常孤独.

但我很快意识到，我永远不会孤单. 我遇到了一些了不起的人，他们会竭尽全力帮助别人, 他们真的让我变得更好了. One of these people was a prefect named Cindy, a Grade 12 student living in Webster. 她庇护我, 确保我总是被包括在活动中, 尽管我比她小三岁. I quickly became much more talkative throughout the year because of her kindness towards me; I felt much happier and more confident. 在其边境, 我一直认为我是一个害羞内向的人, 但我很快意识到，在一个充满善意的社区里, 关心和支持的人, 事实上，我比我想象的要自信得多.

辛迪好心地邀请我参加活动, 但善良并不总是这样的. Kindness can simply mean being friendly and generous, without the expectation of a reward. As long as you are making another person feel better, you are being kind. 这就像赞美别人的头发一样简单, or as difficult as being there for someone on the other side of the country.

Kindness can take many forms, and this is beautifully demonstrated in the story 给予之树 作者:谢尔·西尔弗斯坦. 在书中，有一个小男孩发现了一棵苹果树. 作为一个孩子, 他喜欢爬树玩, 在树枝上摇摆, 吃它的苹果. 当男孩长大, 他和树在一起的时间越来越少了, 只有当他想要物质享受的时候才会来. Every time the boy comes, the tree gives parts of itself away so that the boy can be happy. 当这个男孩十几岁的时候，他拿着苹果去卖钱. 当他年轻的时候，他用树枝盖了一座房子. 当他老了的时候，他用树干造了一艘船. 在任何时候，树都很高兴能帮助男孩. 在故事的结尾, 然而, 男孩回来时已经是一个老人了, and the tree was sad that it couldn't provide the same things it did in the past. 这个男孩, 然而, 真的很感激, as the stump left behind was the perfect spot for him to sit and rest his aching body. The story ends with the boy being grateful for the tree's willingness to help, and the tree being grateful that it could do so much over the course of its life.

What I hope for you to take away from this story is not to give until you have nothing left for yourself, 只要有可能，你应该给予帮助和善意, 能待多久就多久.

引用玛雅·安杰洛的话, “我知道人们会忘记你说过的话, 人们会忘记你的所作所为, 但人们永远不会忘记你给他们的感觉.“所以当你今天离开这里的时候, 挑战自己，善待三个不同的人, 因为人们会永远记得他们是如何被对待的, 他们将继续以同样的方式对待他人.