The Kindness Corner

Placement student Kerry Moor planned and ran the "Kindness Corner" event on the University's campus in 2022. The Kindness Corner is an interactive space where people can share their thoughts about kindness, learn about kindness, and carry out kind acts in the moment. Daily origami classes were arranged with the intention of having people give away their piece to a stranger, as an act of kindness.

• Blog post 1: Shining a Light on Kindness

  Last week, the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness (ROK) brought a focus to kindness for World Kindness Day (13th November). The ROK aims to conduct rigorous, scientific research on kindness, to help people use the science of kindness to make changes in their communities, and to bring kindness into the public narrative, to benefit people and communities who can incorporate more kindness into their lives.

  As an undergraduate placement student at the ROK, I had the opportunity to shine a light on kindness by creating the “Kindness Corner”: an interactive space where people may share their thoughts on kindness, learn about kindness, and carry out kind acts in that moment.

  It is currently on tour around campus, first the Student Centre, then the Meeting House, now the Library Café, and finally the Student Study Space in Pevensey 1, where it will remain until the new year. We did this to spread kindness at all ends of the campus, so that it would be impossible to miss.

  The Kindness Corner includes a “A Kind Act a Day” board. It includes a variety of suggestions of simple kind acts you may do such as:

  “Make a cup of tea for someone who needs one”

  “Ask someone for the highlight of their day”

  “Smile at everyone you see today”

  Furthermore, we organised an origami class every day, with the intention of giving away your origami piece to a stranger. I have loved doing this so much. I had never made origami before, nor had I ever given something to a complete stranger. I found the process of making something very calming, as it’s a way to focus on something simple and fun and I noticed the people who joined me seeming more relaxed afterwards also.

  When giving these origami pieces away, seeing people’s faces light up once they realise you are not giving them promotional material, and sometimes telling you that you have made their day, has become one of the most wholesome experiences of my life. Suddenly, I am paying more attention to strangers, wondering who needs kindness that day.

  The lovely thing about it, is that everybody needs kindness, because even when I have been met with blank expressions after handing someone an origami envelope, just the thought that you may have made someone’s day slightly better feels wonderful.

  The ROK collaborated with BBC Radio 4 to develop an online study called The Kindness Test. More than 60,000 people chose to take part, making it the world’s largest in-depth study on kindness so far. One of the main findings was that people who receive more kind acts have higher levels of well-being, as expected.

  However, results also showed that people who do more kind acts, and even just notice that other people are doing kind acts, also have higher levels of well-being. During the winter period, I haven’t always felt that there was much kindness at Sussex, and yet I have been surrounded by it the whole time, I just didn’t know where to look. Since working on the Kindness Corner, I have learnt that not only are there many lovely people at Sussex, but that doing small acts of kindness for people makes me feel more connected to human beings and the innate kind nature we all possess inside of us.

• Blog Post 2: How my Placement has Changed my Life

  Halfway through my second year, I had a sudden realisation that I needed a break from my Psychology degree. As a driven person, I wanted to redirect my life towards goals I wanted to achieve and things I wanted to learn, instead of being forced to sit exam after exam and study lecture after lecture that didn’t elicit a deep passion in me. I understand how hard it is to motivate yourself to do something you really don’t want to do (I’m sorry neurobiology you were never for me), and this is why I am such a big supporter of doing a placement.

  Choosing a placement aligns yourself with what you want your career and your life to look like and is a reminder for why you are doing a degree in the first place. I knew many people who either dropped out or always considered it, because university wasn’t what they imagined. I think that perhaps many people don’t know how many opportunities a university offers you; you just have to go looking for them. Sitting exams isn’t so painful when you have a clear idea of why you are sitting them, and doing a placement is what cleared the fog for me.

  There are lots of variables that may discourage you from doing a placement: battling the time between completing assignments and writing professional CVs and personal statements, putting in all this effort only to be turned down; not receiving any money for the work you will be doing (many placements are unpaid, but not all); and leaving behind the year group you have spent the past two years with. These are all struggles I have had to face, but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that doing a placement has been the best thing for my education and for my development in life. If you put in the time to seize opportunities, you will get them. The process can feel discouraging, but I urge you not to give up if it is something you know in your gut that you want.

  I believe I got my opportunity through my expression of unfiltered passion. Whilst being professional is important, showing and explaining to employers why you care so much about the opportunity they are presenting is perhaps even more essential. If you don’t feel this way about the placement, maybe it isn’t the right one for you. University is a minefield of choices, and you should only choose the ones you believe will align with your growth and therefore hopefully your happiness.

  Luckily, this is how I feel about the opportunity I got. I believe I hit the jackpot on placement opportunities. I work with the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness (ROK), and I am their first ever placement student.

  “Kindness?” people exclaim when I tell them what I am doing with my life at the moment. At first, I barely knew what researching this meant myself. Now, I find myself being seen as an expert on kindness, as I explain to people how kindness is the medicine to many of life’s difficulties. I am proud of all the work that I do, and have felt a great sense of achievement from projects I have led, such as creating The Kindness Corner, which toured campus in November last year.

  In my experience, research placements are wonderful, because there is such a wide range of jobs you will get to carry out and experience. I have loved applying the knowledge I have gained from my degree to this placement, and what I have loved even more is all the knowledge I have gained from my placement that soon I will apply to my degree. My 3rd year feels less daunting now I have a deep understanding of what I am specifically passionate about in psychology.

  I am so grateful for everyone who I have met and who has helped me along the way in this experience. I have a new belief that people are incredibly wonderful and that the whole point of studying psychology is to help people rediscover their true, kind nature. So, I know I don’t need a formal conclusion for this blog post but, in conclusion, I believe doing a placement is the best reminder for why you are studying what you are studying. A vivid glimpse into what your future may look like or what you don’t want it to look like. An opportunity that reminds you to trust the process in life. And a way to regain motivation for your passions and your decisions.

  If anyone has any questions about doing placements, feel free to email me at km636@sussex.ac.uk. There are many people at Sussex uni who can offer help and advice, don’t be afraid to ask.

• Online Version of the Kindness Corner: Padlet

  Sharing Kindness - Click here to share your kindness, learn about kindness and do some acts of kindness..

  Kindness can feel complicated - Click here to vote on what you think the biggest barrier is to kindness

  Kindness research at Sussex - Click here to learn what the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness has worked on already and hopes to work on in the future