Moving to New York City at 18 was like stepping onto another planet. Coming from a small Southern town where people waved at you from their porches, the city’s relentless pace and noise left me dizzy.
One of my first challenges came at a subway station. I stood frozen in front of a ticket machine, fumbling through buttons and coins, while a line of impatient commuters formed behind me. Their sighs and mutters made my chest tighten. I pressed the wrong options again and again until, to my horror, my eyes filled with tears.
That’s when a kind man stepped forward. He raised a hand, stopping the crowd behind me as if to shield me from their frustration. With calm patience, he walked me through the process, explaining each step until the machine finally spat out my ticket. Then, without hesitation, he swiped his own card and bought me a 12-ride MetroCard. Handing it to me, he smiled and said, “The next time someone yells at you, just yell back.”
It was such a simple line, yet in that overwhelming moment, it felt like armor. His words made me believe I could survive this city after all.
That wasn’t the first time a stranger’s kindness left a lasting mark on me. When I was twelve, my cousins and I spent hours in a bookstore, huddled in the corner with our new books, giddy with excitement. An elderly man watched us for a while, his eyes twinkling. A few minutes later, he returned and handed each of us a $20 gift card. “I love seeing kids read,” he said, before quietly walking away.
We stood there stunned, clutching the cards like they were treasures. To me, they were more than money—they were proof that people notice, that kindness can appear in the most ordinary places, and that even small gestures can live in your memory forever.
Those two moments—one in a crowded city subway, another in the quiet aisle of a bookstore—taught me the same lesson: kindness doesn’t need grand gestures. Sometimes, it’s a hand on your shoulder when you’re lost, or a gift that says, “I believe in you.” And those moments stay with you, shaping the way you treat others in turn.
