Episode 1 – The Power of Kindness and Character

It’s time to find your purpose. But what is your purpose? Who are you and what makes you, you? These are questions that we can all be asking ourselves to help us grow in who we are. We live in a world where isolation and fear can many times overpower kindness. Especially today with COVID-19 taking up our minds and hours, it is even more important to have a purpose. This blog is a place where you can reflect on your purpose and be who you are in times of confusion. “The Ripple Effect” is a piece of imagery that can be linked to this blog, as it resembles how one object such as a small pebble has the capability to make a significant ripple that affects the entire area of water it comes in contact with. Whether a 10 pound rock or a small pebble hits water, both are able to create a ripple that changes the shape of water. The same goes for all of us. Every single person in the world, no matter how big or small, is able to make a difference. Each of us have a purpose, and we hope to challenge you to find your purpose through character and making the world better. Like the Hebrew words say “Tikkun Olam”- “To Heal the World”. 

Hi! My name is Eve Miller, and I am a 9th grader at Maple Grove Senior High. I have so many passions that have shaped me into the person I am today. My love for tennis, track, baking, singing, guitar, piano, theatre, and my religion, are motives that make it easy for me to wake up in the morning. Although I am young, I believe that I have found my purpose, which will be the purpose I live with for the rest of my life. My purpose is to never let kindness die when the world feels hopeless. There are many things that no human being has control of, but despite any virus or a world catastrophe, there is one thing everyone is able to have control of — Kindness. It is times like these where kindness and courage are needed most. Whether it’s sending a handwritten note of gratitude to someone who deserves a thank you, or giving up the last roll of toilet paper on the shelf to someone who needs it more, everyone has control of kindness. Oftentimes, we forget what’s actually important. Just tune in on the news, for example. I can’t remember the last time I heard a story on the news that inspired me and warmed my heart. All we hear about is violence and hatred. This needs to stop. Writing this blog with Tess is one step we can take to bring some more positivity into the world. As a Jewish teenager, it is difficult to live in a society where some people do not accept me for my religion. I have learned to find the courage to stand up for what I believe in, and try my best to be the bigger person at all costs. I will never let someone bring myself or any other person down, just for them to achieve happiness. It’s time for kindness, courage, and unity to begin, and judgements and hate to end. Every single person is able to make our world a better place. All it takes is one act of kindness to better it. As we are experiencing an extremely difficult time in the world, acts of gratitude and kindness will bring all of us closer together more than ever.

My name is Tess Cavanaugh. I am a 9th grader at Visitation High School. Some things that drive me to be who I am is my faith, leading with character and humility, and being active. I love theater, singing, playing guitar, camping, traveling, sailing, skiing, and lacrosse! Something I am actually wondering about right now is my purpose. I keep having to remind myself that it’s ok to not know your purpose yet. Right now, I am trying to focus on my character and faith which in the long run is going to make the world better. One’s purpose is one of the most important parts of what makes them who they are. Every day I wake up and say a prayer to help me focus on what God’s path is for me that day. In this blog it is my goal to help others (and myself for that matter) find their own path so they can make the world better. I am a firm believer that the small things people do in life can make the world better. You don’t need to do huge things that change the world. Even giving a small act of kindness, makes the world better. To make the world better, start by saying hello to the people you see and pass on the sidewalk (still 6 feet apart of course ;)) or give the grocery store bagger a compliment. After that, work your way up to thinking bigger. Right now, COVID-19 might be putting a damper on your personal growth by limiting our connection to others. But from another perspective, COVID-19 is something that can actually challenge us to grow! Everyone at their houses, homeschooling (or as some kids call it – “distance learning”), parents working, little siblings yelling, or older siblings eating too much of the food, we are all being forced to adapt. It is Eve’s and my hope that people can use this time of physical isolation to find ways to grow in character and spread kindness to make the world better. As much pain and hardship as COVID-19 can and already brings, it can also bring hope and growth if you let it. 

The two of us met each other after our parents, Ann Miller at Liberty Diversified International, and Joe Cavanaugh, founder of Youth Frontiers, began to work together and claimed their daughters were doppelgängers! After our first time meeting, we instantly knew we were kindred souls. Our passion for character and spreading love to the world brought us closer immediately, and during our first time hanging out, we began to brainstorm what we could start to better our community. From one of us going to public school, Maple Grove Senior High and the other going to an all-girls catholic private school, Visitation, regardless of the different school environments we bonded in our love for making the world better. 

This blog is here for people to be able to find ways to create a stronger community through their own purpose and to build up others by developing your character. We will be sharing interviews, examples, videos, and much more to hopefully inspire you to grow in yourself and better our world. When people follow their purpose and live with character, our world becomes a better place. This is a time where we hope to bring a positive twist to COVID-19 in order to show how important it is to fill our world with hope, kindness, and love in times of hardship which no one can get away from. 

In writing this blog, our goal is to inspire people of all ages to live in their purpose and act with character by demonstrating acts of kindness, courage, and love that make our world a better place.