Pay it Forward - More Mo-Mentum
When Harlowton English students finished reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, their teacher challenged them to pay-it-forward by thinking of something they could do to improve someone else’s life. She taught them that sometimes we make the world better—not by confronting terrorists or building schools on the other side of the world—but by simply being who we are. They were asked to write an essay describing what action they chose, what effect it had on the receiver and what effect it had on them. Following are some of the statements made by students about what they learned from helping someone else.
“There are very few things that produce more meaning than a simple task aimed to help out a neighbor or friend.”
“I felt so light hearted. It made me feel good to know that I was giving something that could help comfort a child.”
“I realized that no matter the time or money I am spending…I am benefited from it.”
“Sometimes you do something so much you don’t even consider it a good deed.”
“Even though I was tired after the work was done, I was very satisfied with myself. I had done a good turn for the town that has been so good to me.”
“I guess it is hard to say why I did what I did…I didn’t acknowledge the favor I was doing as a good deed until I realized the impact it had on her.”
“It put a smile on my face and made me realize I live a privileged life with people who love and care for me.”
“We talked about how helping someone gave us a better feeling of accomplishment than when we did something for ourselves. I could not help but wonder: what would the world be like if everyone did something nice for some else every day?”