Swati Singh shares why small acts of kindness make a big difference.
I used to think that in order to matter, an action had to be big. That if I wanted to change something — a person, a day, maybe even the world — it had to be loud and dramatic. Something people would notice and remember. But I was wrong.
It was one of those weeks last year when everything felt heavy — assignments stacking up, practices draining me and life pulling me in too many directions at once. I walked through the hallway at school trying to shrink into myself, hoping no one would notice how tired I was. That’s when it happened. A classmate I barely knew looked at me, smiled and asked, “You doing OK?” That was it. Three words.
A two-second pause in someone else’s busy day. And yet, it changed mine. For the first time that week, I didn’t feel invisible. That small act — so ordinary, so easy to overlook — became the moment I held onto. Since then, I’ve started to see these little moments everywhere. Holding the door when someone’s arms are full. Texting “good luck” before a big test.
Saying “thank you,” really saying it, instead of rushing past. None of these things will make the news. But they matter. They remind us we are seen, we are valued and we belong. The truth is, most of us won’t be remembered for the grand achievements we chase. But we will be remembered for the way we made people feel.