A New Opportunity in New Zealand - My Ambassadorship

The Power Of Kindness

My current study abroad internship for Recreate in New Zealand has shed light on how warmth, empathy, and curiosity are essential ingredients for the best recipes of beneficial service. Compassion and kindness are values I consistently hold to enhance my mental health advocacy; they help fuel the connection between the heart, mind, and body for the self and for others. Offering service as a person of support for young people essentially requires empathic and active listening, which is rooted in kindness. Most importantly, kindness involves compassionate care not only for others, but also for oneself. Self-care is not selfish.

Sign written as "Be Kind" with a heart

However, one question has continually been present to challenge me:

How may I build kindness within myself and offer it for others, when oftentimes, acts of cruelty and hatred dominate surrounding environments?

I have observed throughout my international stay how universal hate may unfold in the sneakiest of ways: some as negative self-talk which may lead to mood or eating disorders, others as prevalent rates of bullying in schools, or even racial microaggressions within local communities. Ironically, all these acts stemming from bringing other people down, may only be conquered by compassionate care. Whenever I have sensed someone trying to mitigate another person’s sense of worth, their root cause for doing so often stems from filling a void of security and worth within themselves. The final results end up being bullying, or other actions derived from a lack of unmet needs, which are worldwide and timeless.

Turning The Tables On Negativity

I know what it is like to feel unloved, worthless, and unacknowledged - I have been there before. With the prevalent stigma of mental health and the taboo surrounding its related conversations, it was difficult to deal with my rock bottom and low moments. However, with consistent self-care practices such as reflective journaling, my mindset began to shift. By finally advocating for myself, life generally improved as my internal world consequently became a more peaceful place to live in. Daily habits of self-care helped me realize that the external world’s destruction can never surpass the strongest force that makes human connection beautiful and meaningful: kindness. With personal self-care, offering kindness for others became easier to achieve.

It’s time to combat hate and spread kindness all over the world, starting with self-care. With my generation and the rest of the youth becoming the next visionaries, inventors, and creators to make the world a more mindful and kinder place...

I have chosen to increase inclusive, mental health accessibility and proactively spread kindness by becoming the very first Earkick Ambassador!

Photo of Kat holding Earkick business card, with Earkick logo at top left corner, Earkick panda mascot at bottom corners, and text: "Outsmart Anxiety! Katrina Zara - First Earkick Ambassador"

Helping Earkick To Help Others

Earkick is the world’s first effective mood and anxiety tracker, builder of healthy habits, and tool for powerful breathing exercises. Driven by the latest research and technology, its priority for keeping data entirely anonymous offers you a safe space for venting and releasing their emotions in ways that may not have been present otherwise. Ultimately, this self-care app helps you to fight anxiety, reduce stress, and consistently track your overall mental health.

I have personally been using Earkick during my last term in college, as well as the course of my entire New Zealand trip so far with many fluctuations and life changes - I can honestly say that it has been an incredibly useful tool for my reflective journaling to create and find the lessons and beauties in my life’s experiences: the good and the bad.

It’s time to extend tools for greater compassionate care towards great impact - not only for yourself, but also for others. Although bullying and other acts of hate will always be present, kindness is also a universal, timeless beauty that conquers all. It all starts with self-care and looking out for your own self first. Because by healing yourself, you may help heal the world.

You deserve to healthily express yourself in spaces where you feel free. Try Earkick now for your inner work and self-care journey, using this link. It’s completely anonymous and free forever.

Photo of Kat pointing at business card with CR code for referral link, phone with Earkick on the screen, and bottom text: "Download Earkick now with my referral link below or on my Instagram highlights!"

And as always, sending much love and light for all. <3

- Kat <3

Instagram: @plantifullylivin

@katrinazara