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The kindness Rayyan shows everyone is worth more than any career he could possibly have.

After spending years proving his responsibility, senior Rayyan Dar finally got his first phone in ninth grade. While on a family vacation to Türkiye, a short eight weeks later, he lost it.

In an attempt to rid himself of the guilt he was feeling, he began to stray away from his family despite the dangers that the streets of Türkiye can hold. In the short time he was away from the people he knew, his interactions with strangers presented him with moral lessons he’ll never forget.

“I started talking to people,” Rayyan said. “That was my first instinct. I sat by an ice cream place and started talking to the man there. He gave me an ice cream for free because I didn’t have any money on me, and he began telling me stories about how hard life was in Türkiye. Every once in a while, he would give away free ice cream to someone he saw who looked a little bit sad, and when he did that for me, he gave me confidence, as well.”

The things he’s encountered outside of Michigan and the places he’s traveled to have defined who he is as a person. To Rayyan, the advantages of visiting foreign places come from experiences other than what he gets at tourist destinations. He strives to delve into the culture of wherever he is.

Though he’s enjoyed his time in Greece, Germany, Canada, and every other place he’s been fortunate enough to spend time in, it was the moments he spent with the ice cream vendor in Türkiye that have made a lasting impression. The kindness shown then provided Rayyan with a beneficial shift in perspective and was the incentive he needed to make a personal change in his life. 

Before that time, his mindset was plagued with the stress of high school. After his trip to Türkiye, he figured that the best way to combat those feelings was to express kindness to others suffering from the same things.

“I realized that people have a lot going on in their life,” Rayyan said. “In ninth and tenth grade, they don’t know what to do with that anxiety. I decided to make everyone’s days better: say hello to everyone in the hallways, and when I can’t say hi because I have headphones on or I’m tired, then I’ll just smile and nod. If I lose my voice, I’ll smile instead. I don’t take senior skip days because I want to set an example for the freshmen and sophomores—who are probably going to take those days off anyway—but just to make sure, I nod and tell them to have a great day.”

His actions are inspired heavily by that particular experience in Türkiye, but ever since then, Rayyan has become much more aware of how people treat each other. Not only has kindness come to be more abundant in his own life, but these gestures have brought him closer to his own culture, as well. 

He established this connection in sophomore year while at a gathering for a religious holiday called Eid. Being accustomed to spending this date alone, as the majority of the crowd is significantly older than him, Rayyan had no expectations for the day. But when casual small talk with a family friend shifted to an intellectual, profound conversation about Islam, kindness, and life in general, Rayyan made the decision to follow in the man’s footsteps as an avid student of the philosophy of their religion. 

In his culture, everyone’s supposed to pay zakah—a mandatory donation to those in need—on an annual basis. On top of that is a term called sadaqah, which is an additional contribution of a person’s choice done without an expectation of getting anything in return. Rayyan gives sadaqah simply by the kindness he shows others and by educating them on the misunderstandings of the religion.

“I take inspiration from my religion,” Rayyan said. “In Islam, a smile is a form of charity, and if I’m asked about Islam, I’ll talk about it as much as people want me to. I’ll clear up any confusion people have. I have to make sure Islam is represented in a good light. When people don’t understand Islam, they don’t read the books; they only see the person who is Muslim. They see how they act, and they judge Islam based on that person. Islam is perfect, but the person isn’t, so people have to try their best to portray the culture as what it is.”

By living his life under the instruction of the Quran—a collection of sacred scripture used for guiding the followers of Islam—Rayyan’s understanding of the Arabic language helps take charge of his daily priorities; just above his future plans, at the top of his list, is kindness. 

He understands how important it is to have an ambition to climb the ladder of success after choosing a career, but witnessing others who have misused their hard-earned college degree or squandered their intellectual abilities by deciding to care too late in life has impelled him to have a more universal goal on top of the more tangible ones. The career goals someone has aren’t always a guarantee of success, and this understanding has helped Rayyan be more mindful about his future. 

“I need to have something else,” Rayyan said. “Something I can do across any career, regardless of what happens in my life, and [kindness] is what I chose. If doing something like that, where I can see people happy no matter what career I go into, it’ll make me happy no matter where I end up. It will always work out. Money and a career are not a guarantee, but we have to work as hard as we can to get there. If you just chase after money, after you get it, what are you going to do? No matter how far I get in my career, I have something else that can be pursued even after I reach that. If I don’t, my life won’t have nearly as much meaning.”

Although he finds gratification in the way he has a noticeable positive impact on others, Rayyan emphasizes that he’s not kind for his own benefit. Of course, seeing others happy provides a fulfilling feeling, but that’s not what is important to him; he’s simply pleased to see the effect a simple act of kindness has on another person. 

Noticing that good deeds seem to be in short supply in recent years, he’s made it a point to show the good of his heart wherever he is. Not only are there people at the high school who benefit from his greetings in the hall, but Rayyan has already made friends at the college he hopes to attend due to the humanity he presented at a program he visited over the summer. 

Despite being an example for other students, he accepts the fact that reform won’t take place at the hands of only one person; he hopes for a lasting impact on others, following in the footsteps he’s made as a kind-hearted individual. 

“Be confident in yourself first,” Rayyan advised. “I’m not all smiles all the time. I have moments that I have to focus, but I can be focused and be [kind] at the same time. If you’re not confident in who you are, like I was in ninth and tenth grade, you’re going to come off as shy. I don’t partially acknowledge people. You have to fully acknowledge everyone. You have to [be kind] to everyone regardless of whether you like them or not. Eventually, [your actions] will catch up to you.”