Nice or Kind

Two interchangeable words, right? I always thought so.

Nice is surface-level. Nice is a descriptive word. "You look so nice. Your home is very nice. It was nice to see you." Nice is the girl who gives you a slight smile when you enter the same classroom as her. Nice is the friend who tells you it will all be okay and tells you that she hopes you feel better soon.

Kind, kind is powerful. Kindness is a characteristic. Kindness is a beautiful characteristic, some may even argue it is the most beautiful of all. Kindness is the girl who waits and holds the door for you. Kindness is the friend who buys you chocolate to make your day better. Kindness is writing someone a letter, just to tell them what they mean to you. Kindness is checking in on someone who you know was having a rough day or week or month. Kindness is stopping to talk to a stranger on the street, and having a genuine conversation with them, of both give and take. Kindness is many, many things. Kindness is important. Kindness is DEEP.

I was sitting across the table from my awesome, spectacular, cool and kind friend Ava as she was catching me up on some drama. Mid conversation, she says, "... and she's just nice, that's it." I stop and I question, "just nice?" She then continues on to tell me how her older brother taught her the very same lesson of nice versus kind when she questioned his not negative but not positive connotation around "nice". Dom, her brother, described it as this: (he always wore a bandana in high school) The people who gave him half smiles and said little things such as "nice bandana" or "I like your headband", those were nice people. But the people who gave big smiles, head nods, asked him questions and said enthusiastic things to him like "I love your bandana, man!" those, those were the kind people.

I sat in awe after that. I had never thought about kindness in that light. Such interchangeable terms that are used so often, but never had I thought about the difference nor distinguished it. So simple, but after you think about it, there is so much truth to it! I went home and I thought and thought and thought about this. I have yet to stop thinking about it since.

It's as simple as that.

Being nice is a wonderful thing. I hope that everyone in this world is at the least, just simply nice. But, being kind is amazing. Kind humans are rare. If you have a kind person in your life, love them, appreciate them, do something kind FOR THEM, such as writing them a letter, and simply take a page from their book. Do not strive to be nice, be nice anyways, strive to be K I N D.

A little collection of some of the sweet words, messages and letters I have received from the people I love most! What you give is what you will receive!

Little acts of K I N D N E S S go a long way!