Comparing Stuff

The "This I Believe" essays are a compilation of personal stories centered around kindness and acts of generosity. The two essays, "Umbrella" by Chasity and "The Kindness We Give Each Other" by Mary Popham, both have the central theme of kindness. Both essays are about personal stories however they are at different times in the authors lives. "Umbrella" talks about a random act of kindness on a rainy day that changed the authors life. Meanwhile the author of "The Kindness We Give Each Other" talks about her experiences as a child with receiving a pr

ecious gift so she could feel better and giving it away to make someone else feel better.

"Umbrella" by Chasity spoke about the author as a young woman who achieved great success by working hard. She was on her way to an interview when it began to pour. She was miserable and ran to try to get to her destination faster when as she stopped to take a break, someone threw an umbrella at her feet. She did not know the person, would never know who it was. It was just a random act of kindness. The author claims that that random act of kindness changed her life.

In "The Kindness We Give Each Other" by Mary Popham, she talks about her childhood. How when she was younger she had a neighbour with a heart condition and she was the only one who couldn't get a piggy back from that neighbour because she was too big. Her aunt gave her a little set of bells which she called her "jingle bells" and they were incredibly precious to her. One day in class, one of her classmates was told her house had caught on fire and she wouldn't stop crying so the author gave away her "jingle bells" to make the girl feel better.

The authors address the subject of kindness differently. While Popham tells of giving to make others happy, Chasity was given a gift by an anonymous person in a random act of kindness. Either way, kindness touched both authors so much it impacted their lives severely. The lessons of the essays comes across clear enough, kindness does wondrous things and can change peoples lives.