Kindness begets kindness. So, wanted to create a space to share and amplify stories of kindness with the hope that it inspires a chain reaction.

Kristin Johnson

There have been many kind things that people have done for me in my life, but the thing that stands out to me the most is something one of my closest friends did for me after I had my second child. Having a new baby is much different than one would expect. What you see on Instagram or Facebook, isn’t always the reality that plays out when you’re exhausted, sleep deprived, drained and just trying to cope with such a huge change in your life. You literally become a different version of yourself. Read more>>

Christine Meisenhelter

Truly I’ve been so blessed to have experienced so many different forms of kindness in my life. Sometimes just a smile from a stranger on a tough day feels like the nicest gesture anyone could make…and reminds me because I always try to smile at strangers because you just never know what’s going on in someone’s life and that may be the only time they were shown kindness that day. I don’t know how to ever rank kindness but I do have a beautiful memory of getting a letter in the mail earlier in the year on a random day from my friend Tiffany. There was no holiday or occasion t send this letter. I had a picture of us together in it, colorful stickers, and a note simply saying that she just wanted to tell me how grateful she was for our friendship. Read more>>

Jenny Ruiz

When I was 17 years old, my stepfather had his own business, and I used to work there occasionally. One day, we really wanted to watch a movie, but the only available time was at noon. He told me that it didn’t matter and that if we all worked a couple of extra hours the next day, we could close the business to go to the cinema that day. And so we did. Before entering the theater, he said to me, “You realize that if you have your own business, you own your time.” Read more>>

Katie Ferrara

There have been so many instances of kind acts done for me over the course of my singing career. I can pinpoint the most memorable acts in this response, but I also want to highlight everyday acts that make a difference to me as an indie artist. I’m so grateful to QSC for sponsoring me with my Touchmix and K8.2 speakers. In the past, I’ve used small amps for busking in Santa Monica, Burbank and at farmer’s markets. It meant a lot to be gifted these speakers because musical equipment isn’t cheap, and as an artist, it can be challenging to find the funding to invest in myself. The new speakers have given me more opportunities to perform solo and with a band over the past couple of years. Read more>>

Rachel Kline

The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is given me patience, grace, and time. I need patience to learn, I need grace to feel comfortable, and I need time to heal and grow into my own. Nothing has been more valuable than receiving this care, and learning that it is okay to embody all of these emotional spaces at once or at all. I have been show these kindnesses in my personal and professional life, and without fail I come out on the other side of a difficult time or situation feeling better in myself and more confident in my work. Read more>>

Mariia Menshikova

There’s nothing more challenging and gratifying at the same time as being handed more responsibility than you’ve used to. Every time on a project I was given a chance to express myself in a greater extent than usual, I felt tremendous wave of inspiration and excitement. In those moments you’re able to grow, face your fears, and enlarge the field of what it is that you do. Read more>>

Catherine Kong

The kindest thing anyone has done for me is people taking the time out of their busy day to provide me with thoughtful and constructive feedback and criticism. Whether it was a mentor, a professional, or a friend, their willingness to invest their time and expertise in helping me grow and improve has been truly heartwarming. These individuals didn’t just offer praise or effortless feedback; they genuinely cared about my development and gave me a quality response. Some have done a complete paint-over of my work and written paragraphs of feedback, some have hopped on calls with me for troubleshooting and to give criticisms, and some even made YouTube videos to show me new techniques! Read more>>

Asha Clark

The kindest thing someone has ever done for me was become my mentor. At the age of 18, I recall a moment where I felt so lost as a college freshman. At the time, I was in a pre-pharmacy program, deciding whether or not I had genuine interest in the field. I later figured out that my interest was no longer in that field but I was also not sure what career field interested me. I was already taking a few elective courses at the time with one of them being a general psychology course. I remember going home that Winter Break realizing that my interest was actually in the mental health field. Read more>>

Terri Kaiser

I have been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of so much kindness, but in this moment, 1 particular recent event stands out to me. I had been spending quite a bit of time during the week reflecting on things that had been going on in my mind and in my heart, and I was feeling a bit emotional during one of my Yoga Nidra classes. I could feel the emotion creeping up from my throat into my voice, and from my heart into my eyes as I looked out, feeling overwhelmingly lucky to have the energy of these beautiful people in my class. I closed my eyes and wished each participant love and happiness from my heart to theirs, and then ended class. Read more>>

Shauna Golden

Something that always sticks with me as one of the kindest and most supportive things someone has done for me is something my husband said to me. At the time we were engaged and not yet married and I was having a mental breakdown trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. This wasn’t the first time this had happened and it definitely wasn’t the last. But at the time I was trying to decide if I wanted to switch career paths (yet again) but it was going to be something in a completely different direction. I wasn’t sure if I should pursue it because I was so afraid I would change my mind again and I’d be right back to where I started. I didn’t want to waste more time and money hopping from job to job trying to figure it out. So my husband looked me in the eyes and said, “I don’t care if you want to switch careers every few months, if it makes you happy. Read more>>

Charell Coleman

One of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me is give me a hot fudge sundae. YES! A literal hot fudge Sundae! When I left for college, I left with a huge hole in my heart. In my senior year in high school, my mother was killed which left my two siblings and I motherless. Mommy was a gentle spirit, meek, and her smile would light a stadium. Her greatest quality was her ability to forgive others no matter their transgression against her. These characteristics were always admirable to me and remain so today. While in college, I met a friend and coworker who would almost do anything to see me smile. As, it is often you find me without a smile. On a lunch break, my coworker asked what I would like from McDonald’s. Read more>>

Talia Spencer

During college at Art Center I had a very difficult time surviving- I was sleeping in my car for over 6 months and the entirety of my loans went to schooling, leaving none for housing or food; so I would go 3 days at a time without eating. Often I would sneak into “talks” that my school gave, and sneak a piece of pizza or two! I remember it being so harrowing sorting through the crowd in an almost silent room, taking pizza from the front, and sneaking my way back out. Read more>>

Xu Zhu

As a sound engineer, I’ve been worked with a lot of music producers, singers, songwriters, record labels. I feel super appreciative and challengeable to work with them because they are really successful and talented people on their area. As an engineer, part of my job is handling everyone in the studio for that session and making them feel happy about their song eventually. So I have to use my knowledge about recording, mixing, editing to make their sound sounds awesome and everyone loves it, as well I have to find the best way to communicate with everyone for example, singers, producers, A&R to make sure we are all on the same page with this creative process. Read more>>

Sheryl Benjy

Kindness is one of my core values and I am currently collaborating with my dear friend, Christine Lane and her non profit Twice The Kindness. One of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me actually relates to my friend Christine. When I was going through some difficult times, she was there for me every step of the way. She once made a promise that she would celebrate and dance with me when my father finally made it home after being gone and stuck in another country for many years. Read more>>

Diana C Zollicoffer

One of the kindest things anyone ever did for me happened when I was 15 years old. I was at a National Honors Society banquet for my academic achievements in school. I was just freely talking to the people at my table; talking about how much I loved the arts and what Shakespeare meant to me. Someone asked if I liked Romeo & Juliet. I replied “Oh no, they were just silly teenagers.” and “Antony & Cleopatra, Macbeth and King Lear were my favorite plays.” I even recited “All the world’s a stage” from As You Like It and King Lear’s in the heart of the storm monologue…. “Blow winds and crack your checks. Rage. Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes spout…!” Yes, I was that dramatic School of the Arts kid! [ I laugh now, thinking about it but it’s always been a part of my “normal” ] Read more>>