"It took me a year to complete,all at night.I used almost 500 liters of paint.It was the biggest illegal graffiti（涂鸦）piece ever.

These are the words of a man named Saber from the United States.Saber is talking about a piece of colourful graffiti that he painted in Los Angeles.Saber did not have permission for this painting.It was on city property.Was the graffiti a piece of art?Or was Saber a criminal because he painted it illegally?

Abdal Ullah,a councilor in London,told TIMES magazine,"Graffiti is a crime.It ruins the environment.It makes our neighborhoods feel less safe.And it costs thousands of pounds each year to clean."

Graffiti artists often use high technology paint.This is hard to remove or paint over.Large cities spend millions of.dollars a year to remove graffiti.Graffiti is also often done in places where other criminal behaviour takes place, including violence and the use of illegal drugs.

Some people say that some kinds of graffiti can be considered art.Saber from Los Angeles said,"My painting shows 22 years of intense art making.And I think art is the number one goal for myself.Graffiti is the way I learn.Art gets a bad name because it is considered something only for a few people in society.It is seen as something only a rich or highly educated person can understand.And that is not true.Every single child in the world drew a picture once and had that excitement."

Luckily,there is a group called Writerz Blok in San Diego,California.They set up 12 walls where people can legally paint graffiti.Marcus Tufono,who works at Writerz Blok,explains,"Our goal is to move the illegal graffiti to a legal wall,and then put it on a computer screen and some software,so hat they can take their art and use it around the community.Then graffiti artists have a chance to succeed through their art."

About six years ago, I was sitting on a plane next to a woman who was extremely energetic. I was tired and wanted to take a nap, but she tapped me on the shoulder to introduce herself.

"Hi, my name is Helga."

As we talked, it came up that I had started an organization in high school called R.A.K.E. (Random Acts of Kindness, Etc.). As I described what we did, Helga got very serious and said to me, "There is nothing more important in the world than kindness."

I was curious about what she had said, and as the plane took off. she began telling me a story about the last time she had flown.

It was three years ago and she was heading back to her hometown because her father had become very ill.

Just as the plane was about to leave, her father's doctor called to inform her that her father had suddenly passed away. For the three hour plane ride, she sat in stunned(受惊的) silence,.

When she arrived at the airport in her hometown, she walked to the nearest bench(长椅),sat down and cried.

For two hours, she sat and wept while thousands of people just walked on by.

"Not a single person stopped and asked if I was OK that day. It was on that day that I realized kindness isn't normal. "

Helga's words have stuck with me for all these years. I'm reminded all the time that for many of us, kindness is not usually our "default setting (默认设置)".

We spend so much time worrying about our own problems that we walk by or ignore other people in need of a bit of kindness.

So, I've made it my mission to do my part in making kindness "normal".

Now, I travel to schools all across the US to speak about compassion(同情),empathy(同感),and love.

I' m proud to share my stories with students, teachers, and parents about our need for character, compassion, and kindness.

Providing young people with practical ways to exercise kindness makes my job more satisfying than any other I can think of.

And when I give my talks, I always have my conversation with Helga in the back of my mind.