The night before I left my study abroad in London, I ended up in the ER with a UTI. That was bad enough, but the real issue I was struggling with was that I was stressed to the max about how I was going to get to the airport the next morning, because the tube maps were still confusing to someone as directionally challenged as I am, and heaving suitcases up and down the stairs in the tube stations was difficult. This is relevant because, in the 6 or so hours that I spent in the waiting room for my test results, I befriended an elderly couple that was also there, and it turns out that their son was a cab driver. They promised me that he would be waiting outside my flat the next morning to take me to the airport. And you know what? He was. I got to the airport with time to spare and he helped me with my luggage and everything.
Another time, back in my home city, I was in danger of not being able to continue my schooling if my financial aid didn’t go through. Problem was, my university’s financial aid office is cruel and uncaring, and refused to return any of my calls or emails. I finally went to the office in person to ask them if my request for continued financial aid had been accepted, and they said, “Eh, we don’t know, we’ll get back to you.” Completely defeated, I found an out of the way hallway to cry in.
Only, it wasn’t as out of the way as I thought. Another student saw me crying, and came over to ask what was wrong. I explained the situation to her, and her face hardened. “Come with me,” she said, and she marched me back into the financial aid office and demanded the clerk actually go look at my file to see if my request had been submitted. Once they went and retrieved my file, she patted me on the shoulder, said, “Good luck,” and left. I never saw her again after that, though I wish I could have bought her a coffee at least. She went out of her way to help me and I never even learned her name. (My request had been accepted, btw. Weeks prior. They just didn’t feel like telling me.)
There really is goodness and kindness in the world, but it doesn’t stop with us in these moments. We always have to remember to pay it forward, however we can. If you ever have an opportunity where you can be kind, or you can turn the other way, be kind. Always choose to be kind.
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