myIAKI // by KYLA P // kardsbykyla.com

Everyone has a story. 

The real life events that together make them who they are and the one only few people get to really see. I’m not talking about the story that’s on social media or at the fancy party but the real nitty gritty story of your life.  We often forget about this because we see people through the lens of social media or an outsider and in turn so many people’s lives just look so perfect.  We see people how they want us to see them.  I can’t speak for everyone, but I know at time I find myself thinking ‘wow their life is so awesome, if only I could be like them’ …. but would I really if I knew their ‘real story’?   

The same could be said for the opposite side of the spectrum.  How often do you think about the story of the person begging for change on the street? Do you think about their past? What they have been through or has happened to them to get them to that point?  I know I don’t (I wish I could say otherwise but it’s the truth.)  I try but I often have to catch myself and remind myself that not everything is always as it seems.

As humans we naturally all have struggles in life, insecurities we probably would rather not talk about, nights we prefer to not relive, people who we would avoid running into again, the list could go on.  With that said it is so easy to forget this fact and feel like other people’s lives are so ‘perfect’ in comparison. I have been on both sides of this spectrum at various points in my life.  I have been the one wishing I could live someone else’s life and I have been the one whose social media looks like it’s based off a movie. Today I am glad that I have been on both sides of that coin and I try not to forget what its like. 

All of this leads me to what brings me happiness and to eventually start my own business with this concept in mind.  Spreading kindness to others because you never know what someone else’s ‘story’ really looks like. I have been at some of the lowest points in my life but if you saw me on social media you would never know.  I was at a pool party with a bunch of girlfriends looking like I was living the dream…. but secretly (my ‘story’) was I just wanted to be anyone else besides myself.  At the same time, I have been the girl off to herself in the corner probably looking depressed to others but I was completely content just watching my friends having a good time and reflecting on how grateful I was for where my life has taken me.  My point is you just never know where someone is at in their ‘story’.

I get some of the most joy out of ‘random acts of kindness.’  (A now slightly trendy phrase which I am thankful for but at the same time hope people really step back and think about the meaning behind it not the credit or praise they might receive if noticed.) There is no better high for me than to randomly leave handmade cards with a message of ‘you matter’ or ‘your loved’ handwritten around town for someone to eventually find.  I never know who gets these and I am aware a good amount of them are probably just thrown away or laughed at but that doesn’t matter to me. It’s the hope that if even just one of them ends up in the hands of someone who really needed that reminder that day it is all worth it.  I have been that person who needed that reminder and I can distinctly remember the times that people, often strangers, were kind to me in a way that they didn’t have to be, giving me something to smile about even if just for a moment.

I keep two signs in my house that embody this idea perfectly and serve as reminders to me in my everyday life that everyone has their own ‘story’ even if I don’t know it.  One sign reads “Be somebody who make everybody feel like a somebody” and the other is the famous quote from Maya Angelo; “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will  forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So what brings me happiness is the hope that I can remind someone they’re not alone and that they don’t have to put on an act if they are not ok because as cliché as it may sound, they are loved.

Kyla

Owner, Kards By Kyla

Kardsbykyla.com