“Earlier this year, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation—a national organization—contacted Notre Dame in order to establish their first-ever college club. As of right now, we identify as a kindness movement. We hope to someday become the kiND Club, but we first need approval from the SAO.”

               “Has the movement completed any random acts of kindness yet?”

“One so far! We wrote kind words on 4,000 sticky notes, and the Wednesday before spring break, we stuck them onto the dinner trays at South. It was really interesting to see how each person interpreted the term ‘kind words’. Some wrote Mean Girls quotes; some wrote positive affirmations; there was even someone writing clever science jokes. It got everyone thinking—because kindness is neither limited nor strictly defined. It can be a smile, it can be remembering to laugh, it can be a compliment. So at dinner that night, it was really beautiful: 4,000 people were thinking about kindness around the same time. Some of them even attached them to their binders or carried them to stick onto mirrors afterwards. It started a conversation, and that’s what a movement does. It starts small, gets people thinking. Because, honestly, kindness is a lifestyle. Your life is not isolated from randomness. Things are going to happen. It’s all about how you look at them, how you work through them, and how you help others with their struggles.”