It was 2011 and I’d decided to start a humanitarian street art project called 500 random acts

It was 2011 and I’d decided to start a humanitarian street art project called 500 random acts of beauty to add a bit of unexpected love and kindness to everyday life. I worked on the first several acts without telling anyone in my life what I was doing. For the 3rd random act of beauty, I went to the library and found a book about being bullied at school. I wrote an anonymous letter of encouragement to a child who might choose that book because they were being bullied and stuck the letter inside the pages of the book, hoping they’d come across it. For the 2nd random act of beauty I wrote a poem and hung it on the bare walls of a long corridor in an office building, and for the 5th random act of beauty I took some of my photographic prints and hung them inside the stalls of a public bathroom―both of these acts were executed to add art to mundane and unexpected places. ⁣
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The 7th random act of beauty was the first one that required me to actually approach a stranger, which was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. I wrote a thank you note to a custodian at a nearby strip mall that said, “You’re doing a great job. Lunch is on me today,” and stuck a $20 bill inside of it. I asked my sister to film from a distance and after several moments of hesitation I finally gathered the courage to approach her. I went up to her, smiled as I handed her the envelope, and then walked away as quickly as I could. When I watched the footage my sister had captured, I saw the woman open the card, read it, and then wipe tears from her eyes.⁣
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After I’d completed a handful of these acts, I decided to share the project online, with the hope of inspiring others to do their own random acts of kindness. Right before I posted it I felt a bit of anxiety, second guessing myself and thinking that maybe people would find this idea stupid. I went ahead with my decision to post it despite the fear I was feeling, and in the split second before I pressed “post” to share the announcement on Facebook, I heard a voice of guidance, of knowing, speak to me for the first time in my life. It said, “ , .” I pressed the button.⁣
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Pictured here is the 4th random act of beauty which is admittedly rudimentary in appearance, part of why I felt shy about the project, but even in this moment years later, I can say that if I came across something like this as I was about to cross the street, it would bring a smile to my face. A reminder that things don’t have to be perfect or cost a lot of money in order to make an impact. ⁣