<strong>By Grace Stewart</strong>

I recently submitted this quote from the book “The Help” to my school yearbook to go onto my senior page, and as the holidays near, I have begun to ponder what these words mean. The significance goes beyond the grammatical errors because every person in this world has a purpose: for kindness, intelligence and importance.

The first third of our school year at Beaufort Academy has past, and the time is flying as Christmas is approaching. These are times of giving, caring and enjoying each other’s presence. As I look around at my peers, all I see are the most gracious, intelligent and unselfish people. No one seems to care about “cliques” or popularity; they seek to make friends with everyone around them in our tight-knit community. I never realized this until I was walking to my psychology class and a middle school student dropped her entire pencil case onto the ground. Three upperclassmen immediately began to help her pick up the contents before other students began to unknowingly step on them. It is these random acts of kindness that make people around us feel happier.

My school is so important to me, and it is through its care, respect, education, and morals that I learn to adopt this phrase into my everyday lifestyle. Beaufort Academy teaches its students to strive to aid themselves as well as those around them through respect, integrity, intellect, leadership, and pride. If you were to step foot onto our campus any day of the week, I promise you that any student will flash you a smile or even say hello — this is just how much I believe in my school and everything it has to offer.

So what is Kathryn Stockett from “The Help” trying to express to us through this quote? From my point of view, it is that every single person in this world is significant. We were placed on this earth in order to positively affect those around us. From the tutors at Beaufort Academy to the Rotary’s Interact Club to the kind upperclassman who helped pick up dropped pencils, we are all important to each other.  Random acts of kindness go farther than you know.

So at this time of the year, look beyond your self and try to see how you can better the world ... one pencil at a time.
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