It's Simple. Be Kind

Often times when I say "I was bullied" most, if not all assume it happened while I was at school, on the bus or on the playground. Bullying of our youth is a very serious, life threatening issue; this is also the case for adults.  When you are bullied as an adult a few things happen. Much like our young targets, you feel extremely embarrassed this is happening to you, to the point of not saying anything out of fear that people will not believe you, or worse yet think you are not the confident, strong person everyone sees you as. For myself, I felt I had brought this upon myself in some way or caused this negative attention. The more I seemed to mind my own business the more I was sought out. The effects of bullying are both physical and mental and they are also residual. Maybe we can not change the person who enjoys being the bully, but we sure can do something to inspire and empower victims and bystanders. I have decided to create a campaign to do just that. Thi

"Look for the helpers..." a quote from Fred Rogers we have become all too familiar with. In the wake of the recent tragedy in Orlando, I thought back to Dec ember of 2012, when the news broke about Sandy Hook. I listened and watched in complete horror. Fortunately, stories about the heroes that day soon began circulating and restored my faith in humanity. They inspired me to want to do something. I then learned of the 26 Acts Campaign in which an act of kindness is performed to honor each life lost at Sandy Hook. I quickly joined in and helped spread the word. We are now faced with yet another act of unspeakable violence. There is evil in this world and the only way evil triumphs is for good people to do nothing. That is why I am renewing my random act of kindness efforts in memory of each of the 49 lives lost in Orlando. Please join me and Nicole Zwiercan, Mrs. Illinois International 2016, by documenting your act of kindness on your social media outlets w