What action has touched me the most? It was not somebody buying me something, being nice, or listening to me rant. It was a stranger picking up my books.

I was

Photo credit: Lillian W., Inkster, MI
Author's comments about this article:
Thank you to all of the kind hearts out there, you never know when somebody is suffering.
late to school and could not bear to talk to anybody. I had had a hard morning and my sole goal was to get to my calculus class and make it through the class without being yelled at. Upon arrival at school, I made a beeline to my locker and did not acknowledge anybody. Shove, push, pull, and move were the only actions going through my mind as I tried to get my books out of my overstuffed locker. Within a few seconds, I found many of my binders falling to the floor and was cursing myself for not taking the time to secure my papers in my binder instead of sliding them loosely wherever they would fit. I then heard the bell that announced that my class on the other side of the building would start within the next 5 minutes. I was going to be late. That was until the sweetest looking girl showed up behind me holding some of my binders. I was shocked. People have done nice things for me before but it was so much nicer coming from a stranger on a day that had started out horribly. It was all I could do to stumble out a thank you before the girl was off to her next class.

When a person is having a bad day, the smallest action can make them feel recharged and ready to face the day. Later, I found out that this girl was a freshman. Being a junior, this made me realize that not all the freshmen were stuck up fakes that did not know the difference between an orange marker and a tan. I am thankful for this girl’s actions and now, I try to perform at least one random act of kindness a day to a stranger.