Choosing Kindness: A Journey of Leadership, Connection, and Community

January 17, 2025
Chloe is a high school senior passionate about mental health, gender equality, racial justice, advocacy, and psychology. Having always been fascinated by human behavior and passionate about mental health awareness, she started researching adolescent psychopathology through her school’s science research program. Last summer she studied the moderating effect of emotion regulation on the relationship between self-esteem and social desirability in adolescents which will be published in the Journal of Emerging Investigators soon. This year she has been conducting research regarding sleep, depression, and self-esteem among adolescents and hopes to publish her research. Chloe is the Vice-President of her school’s mental health awareness club and serves as a Teen Advisory Board Member for Bring Change to Mind, where she works on creating educational resources and assists with the design of nationwide programs for youth mental health. She is also grateful to be a research intern at Born This Way to continue her work toward supporting youth mental health. Outside of her mental health work, Chloe is also the Executive and Research director of iFeminist, a non-profit working to highlight underrepresented women in history, and captain of her school’s speech and debate team where she has competed on the state and national level. Furthermore, she is the Founder and Chapter Lead of the Dear Asian Youth Westchester Chapter and the Dear Asian Youth West Regional Lead on the National chapter committee. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and cooking.
This story took place in United States

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“Students Against Violence Everywhere Club….. Join today to promote kindness, inclusion, and safety for your school community…” 

The words on the poster caught my eye as my freshman-year self paused in the crowded hallway, reading them with curiosity as I let the words sink in. At the time, I wasn’t sure what exactly drew me in, but now, as the club’s president four years later, I realized that it was the transformative power of kindness that drew me in. As I was taught by my mother, a simple act of kindness can ripple through lives, shape communities, and create a sense of connection. 

Over the past four years, I have seen firsthand the direct power kindness holds for communities, benefiting mental health, and inspiring others to create change. Especially in a world where the CDC reports that 1 in 3 adults report feeling lonely and nearly half of young people struggle with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, Kindness is an imperative tool to help our society heal, grow, connect, and thrive together. 

As the president of my school’s Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Club, I have witnessed the profound impact small acts of kindness can have for mental health. Research has found that acts of kindness can improve the well-being of both the doer and the receiver. Understanding the impact kindness can have both on individuals and communities, I was inspired to start a kindness campaign through the SAVE Club, where we worked on promoting kindness in our community and school. We spread kindness through social media posts, school-wide presentations, writing cards to patients at our local rehabilitation center, and creating affirmation bookmarks. Our common goal was to encourage everyone to engage in kindness and foster an environment where kindness became a norm. Research has found that the impact a kind act can have on its receiver is often underestimated. By promoting kindness as a norm, I saw how these simple actions were able to uplift individuals and strengthen our community, even in times of distress. 

Kindness offers more than just a short moment of joy. It has the ability to bring a greater sense of belonging, boost self-esteem, and reduce feelings of isolation and stress. For example, when creating the kindness bookmarks which included positive messages such as “I believe in you,” “Keep your head up and Smile,” “You got this” and “Be Kind to yourself and others,” I started to internalize those messages myself. As research has shown, acts of kindness such as leaving positive notes can have a positive effect on mood. A simple act of kindness not only has the potential to spread positivity for people around me, but my own perspective. 

From handing out the kindness bookmarks to my local bookstore to receiving news that the rehabilitation patients loved the cards to hearing feelings of inclusivity from my own club members, I have learned how kindness has the power to create real, lasting change, even in spaces where hope can feel hard to find. Reflecting on my internship with Born This Way Foundation, I have deepened my understanding of the connection between kindness and science, teaching me that kindness is a powerful tool to shape equitable and compassionate communities. As I prepare to graduate high school, these lessons on the importance of kindness will always stick with me. Whether it is opening a door for someone, writing a card for a hospital patient, or even just looking in the mirror and telling myself a positive message, I will always choose to be kind. 

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