Picture this: you walk into a room, and someone laughs at your outfit, loud enough for everyone to hear. Your face goes hot, your stomach drops, and for the rest of the day, that one moment is all you can think about. Most of us have felt something like this at least once, and yet so many people still choose to be that laughing voice instead of the friendly one. Nowadays, when people are mean, they think it makes them look “cool” or confident. What they don’t realize is the sadness, embarrassment, and awkwardness that wash over the person on the other side. So before you say something unkind, ask yourself: How would I feel if someone said that to me?
Social media has only made this problem louder. People post photos of others with captions like “Look at his/her outfit” or “Check out his/her ugly face,” turning a private moment into public entertainment. Others do it out loud, mocking people right in the middle of a classroom or a crowded street. The damage adds up quietly: many people cry themselves to sleep believing they aren’t “enough”; some begin to doubt a face they once liked in the mirror; and others hide the things that make them who they are, like anime, manga, K-pop, J-pop, and countless other interests, simply because they’re terrified of being laughed at. Some are teased for things they never chose, such as financial struggles at home or having separated parents. None of it is fair. None of it is kind.
What this world truly needs, instead, is kindness—real, deliberate kindness. It needs people who refuse to judge before they understand, people who actually listen, and people who work to build a world where everyone has a safe space: a place to vent without fear, a place to share their interests without shame, and a place to feel confident enough to finally come out of their shell.
Fortunately, kindness rarely needs to be grand to matter. It can live in the smallest of moments, repeated every single day. Give up your seat for an elderly passenger on the bus. Offer food, money, or water to someone in need. Walk an elderly person across a busy road; their smile alone might be the best part of your day. Welcome a new student before anyone else does, or sit beside the one eating lunch alone. Choose to clear up a misunderstanding instead of letting a rumour spread further. Speak up for someone being bullied, whether the cruelty happens online or face-to-face. Lend a hand to your parents or to the people who quietly keep your home running. Hand a cold glass of water to a worker sweating through a summer afternoon. Even a simple, genuine compliment, like “Hello! Your dress is so pretty!” can turn someone’s entire day around.
But kindness is not just about actions; it’s about honesty, too. Real respect and real kindness show up in how people are actually treated, not in the polite phrases used to excuse bad behaviour. Telling someone to “respect their elders” while treating those very elders poorly isn’t respect at all. It’s disrespect wearing a kinder-sounding disguise.
Ultimately, this world should be a safe, diverse place, one where people can wear what they want, love what they want, and become whoever they want to be, free from judgment. So the next time you’re tempted to be mean just to seem cool, choose differently. Be the person who makes someone feel like they belong, not the one who makes them feel small. Because in the end, the world doesn’t need more people trying to look cool. It needs more people brave enough to be kind.
Written by Student Contributor: Haniya Nasir – (VI-E)