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ERIK WEIHENMAYER

He hasn't let blindness keep him from touching the top of the world.  ... listen >

NEW KID ON THE WARD

I was a scared 10-year-old girl in the hospital having reconstructive surgery.  ... read >

THE DAY WE BECAME FRIENDS

She was new to my school and we despised each other for the first year.  ... read >

BAD DAY

I was so close to tears. I could feel them just behind my eyelids threatening to spill out any second. I could feel my face crumpling into a little ball, my lip quivering...I needed a friend.  ... read >

KINDRED SPIRITS

Even though we don't see that much of each other I've always felt a certain closeness to her, maybe because we're both artists or because neither one of us is afraid to try new things.  ... read >

SOMEONE I COULD TRUST

I had been suffering from anorexia and bulimia for more than a year when she first started asking me what was wrong. I didn’t want to tell her.  ... read >

FOOD IN THE WORLD OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Nearly a year ago now, I had been unemployed for 3 months, No income, no food! Mother and 11 year old daughter. My landlady to whom i could not pay rent either decided to make a commitment to us. She said "I will not let you go without until you are settled again!".   ... read >

MAKING FRIENDS, LOSING ENEMIES

I didn’t wear make-up, and I didn’t wear those awesome bell-bottom pants. I didn’t exactly look like the coolest girl. But, I kept smiling at her, though she rolled her eyes, and I kept telling her she looked beautiful, even if she sighed in irritation  ... read >

WHY DO I STUTTER?

I stutter. When I was younger, I didn't know what it was and I was often ashamed of it. I even was home-schooled because of it. I had no friends and thought no one liked me ‘cause I was different.  ... read >

TRUE FRIEND

There is a boy I know who used to always get picked on. He was insulted, he was pushed around, and he was taunted by bullies.  ... read >

THE GRACE OF SMALL KINDNESS

Just like I knew that Ryan would be fine, I knew that I would be fine, because love and peace aren't just in heaven, they are in every one of us. They were in the people who packed and painted. They were in the people who entertained Ryan in the hospital. They were in the people who reminded me to eat. They were in the people who had moved us. They were in the people who had arranged for hospice. I knew that just as I had needed Ryan to tell me a joke when I was down; I had needed those people, and they had wanted to be there for me.  ... read >

KINDNESS

The whole time we were catching up, I was just stunned that he still remembered me.  ... read >

KINDNESS

Before the day of the assembly, I had been trying to better myself by simply being kind to others. After the assembly, I got the idea of just saying thanks to the wonderful staff at my high school.  ... read >

SUNDAYS WITH JESSE

The principal had put me down for watching over Jesse. Jesse was like any other 4th grade boy except for one thing: He was profoundly autistic.   ... read >

2XTREME

John told me that if I could get good grades, have no negative police contact, do at least 60 hours of community service, and stay sober, he would take me on the "2Xtreme Dream" trip. The “2Xtreme Dream” was a trip to southern Russia to climb Europe's tallest mountain, Mt. Elbrus, standing at 18,510 feet.   ... read >

GUESTS FROM THE CLUB

Despite our financial hardship, though, every year during the holidays the best memories were made. Most of those grand memories take me back to December 25th, when Dad would announce to us after breakfast that he was going downtown to bring home guests for dinner.  ... read >

A TRUE FRIEND

My friend is now working on her Master's and needed a good friend to write a short paper on her integrity. She asked me, and this is the story I told in that paper. When she read it, she had no idea how much her efforts had meant to me then, or how much they still mean in my life. To me, that is what a true friend is.  ... read >

IMPARTING WISDOM

My father died on December 18, 2003, when I was 12-years-old. Granted, I was not able to know my father for a big portion of my life, yet I acquired much wisdom from this great man's life and from what he had imparted to me.  ... read >

FITTING IN

My experience as a first year camp counselor held many things I was expecting, but also a number of things I was not expecting, with my group of 6th graders. My campers came from lower income neighborhoods and schools for an 8 week summer day camp.  ... read >

SHARING IS CARING

So working at camp has taught me so many, many things—especially working at a camp for kids coming from low-income families and neighborhoods. One thing it has taught me is that these kids are not short of kindness and happiness, they just show it differently.  ... read >

THE BEST GIFT FOR A BEST FRIEND

She picked it up and held it up against her body and I saw how happy and beautifully she smiled.  ... read >

I LIVE INSPIRED

Two years ago my life took a quite unexpected turn. I can remember the exact moment, sitting on the front steps of my apartment listening to an old friend explain his goal to help people in recovery from substance abuse. Little did I know this mission would soon expand to include helping the world live more inspired.   ... read >

LIFE IS LOVE

Life, most people say, is fleeting. It flies right by us and we barely even notice until something horrible happens. My name is Bec and I am sixteen. August 3rd was the fourth anniversary of my mother's death.  ... read >

A FRIEND TO BE THERE

It was a fairly chilly Wednesday night, and for some reason, I had decided to go to Pioneer Girls (kind of like girl scouts). I figured maybe someone I know might be there. We had talked a lot about friendship in class earlier that day, and it got me thinking.  ... read >

TWO AMAZING PEOPLE

I recently read a wonderful account of an incredible act of kindness. It involved the country singer, Jan Howard, and it occurred back in the early or mid 1950's.  ... read >

MICHAEL AND ST. THERESA

I have been suffering from severe depression for quite a while now, so when my partner suggested we take a day trip to Dublin on the ferry I reluctantly said yes. We arrived in Dublin and while he went to meet a friend I strolled down O'Connell Street just looking at shops and people watching.  ... read >

FORGIVE AND GROW

Forgiving, I feel, is easy. Forgetting the experience that comes prior to the forgiveness, however, always remains with us. Choosing to forgive means choosing to let go of the bad or negative emotions that one experiences so that we can live in peace and harmony.  ... read >

SURGERY

When I was about 13 years old I cut my spleen while I was snowboarding with my friends. It was a bad accident—I was just snowboarding the way I usually do but I caught an edge. I was out of school for a month and couldn’t do anything for 3 months. I couldn’t even get in a car for 2 weeks because it hurt so badly!  ... read >

DELIVERING SMILES

My name is Destinee. I am 11 years old. I have a friend name Shelby. Shelby and I have set up a small organization with my Mom. It is called Delivering Smiles.  ... read >

REMOVING SNOW

I know it doesn't seem like much, but yesterday my neighbor (who is now on crutches) was trying to clean the snow off his truck with a broom. I went across the street and helped him.  ... read >

MR. AND MRS. POSITIVE

I have two really good friends, Nancy and Richard. They both believe in the power of positive thinking. However, though their personalities are similar, they are totally different in other areas of their lives. The biggest differences are their childhood, career choices, and lifestyles.  ... read >

VOLUNTEERING WORK

Here is an example of hundreds of people coming together to serve their community.  ... watch >