what’s a small act of kindness from a stranger that stuck with you years later?
June 26, 2025
what’s a small act of kindness from a stranger that stuck with you years later?
36 comments
One time I dropped all my stuff in public and a random girl helped me pick everything up without saying anything. Just a small moment but it really meant a lot that day.
mine was when i was having a bad day and tearing up in the corner of a coffee shop. a women who was three tables aways approached me and handed me a tissue, smiled, and said “whatever it is, you’ll get through it”. it reminded me of the magic of simple kindness and how powerful it can be
A stranger complimented my outfit when I felt really insecure that day. It was so random but meant a lot.
When I was 20 or 21 I was waiting tables, and I don’t remember how it came up, but I told a customer I wish I had a car, and she said she had a car that I could have. It wasn’t even an old beater or anything. She just gave me a car. I started crying and hugging her, and I’m crying thinking about it now >20 years later. I saw her around town a few times after that and I went out of my way to do anything I could possibly do for her. It was life changing.
Edit: I guess that wasn’t really a small act of kindness. My bad.
I was walking to work and stressed with a job I hated, husband had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was his emotional punching bag whilst he was trying to deal with it (our relationship hadn’t been good for a while before this) and my brother had killed himself earlier that year.
I don’t think I was crying but I had the weight of the world on me and was in my head.
A woman was walking the other way and just stopped me to ask if I wanted a hug. I burst out crying on her, and she was so sweet snd patient with me.
We headed off in different directions and I never asked her name.
GOD BLESS that woman because way back then I had a solid plan for leaving and although that alone didn’t stop me, it got me through that day.
I still think of her do fondly and I wish I could tell her
When my boyfriend and I were in Japan, we were in Tama and decided to go to a sushi restaurant, but we got there and it wasn’t open yet, so we had to wait.
It started pouring with rain. We saw some lady leave her apartment or something, and she handed us an umbrella and went back inside. It was so nice of her.
When my baby was a newborn. He would only nap in the stroller. I tried everything to get him to sleep in his bassinet. I was a first time mom and read about sleep crutches and bad sleep associations. I felt guilty about stroller naps and anxious because they risked an increase of sids so I tried to avoid them. I was exhausted and desperate for the baby to stop crying. I put him in a stroller and was about an hour and a half into the walk. It was the middle of winter in Ontario. The sidewalks were somewhat shoveled from snow but I was not in my right mind. I had this habit of overly caring for my baby that I forget about myself. I wasn’t wearing a jacket or mits so I was pretty frostbit. Some nice old lady stopped me in the street. She was so kind and snapped me out of whatever anxiety spiral I was going through. She just warmly stopped me for a moment and reminded me to take care of myself too. It in no way felt judgmental. It was such a small thing but I really needed someone to see me and care about me at that moment and give me the permission I guess to take care of myself.
Had an asthma attack and was suffering a coughing fit as a child whilst walking to the shops with my mum and a woman (stranger) literally rushed out of her house with her daughter with a glass of water for me! I’ll never forget that act of kindness ❤️
A woman paid for my coffee when my card rejected. I was studying to enter my PhD program and I just ran out of money working my summer job, hadn’t realized something had gone through in the account before going for coffee. It was a woman with kids and it meant a lot to me (I cried in secret after) and I really thought about what a good example that set for her kids too.
In September 2005 when I was 20, my mum and I were walking through the Little India neighbourhood in the east end of Toronto, on the way to get a bus and then a train home (about an hour away). I was very unwell at the time both mentally and physically and we’d spent the past 24+ hours at the hospital. I was sort of feeling ok in that moment though, and one of the shops we passed in that neighbourhood had some things in the window that caught my eye and I wanted to go in and look around. At the time, I was really interested in anything to do with Indian history and culture. I’m sure most of the customers were from the Indian community, but two pasty-white women (I’m a mix of English and Ukrainian; English on my dad’s side, Ukrainian on my mum’s) had just walked into their store haha. The man behind the counter was maybe around 70 and he greeted us really warmly. He said the couple of bags we were carrying looked heavy and that we seemed tired, and asked if we wanted to put them down and come into the back of the shop and he could make us some cups of chai. I think it would’ve been rude not to accept tbh, and he wasn’t wrong that we were tired, plus chai was one of my favourite drinks. After we finished the tea he mentioned that since the shop was closing soon, he’d be heading home and his wife would have dinner ready and he wondered if we wanted to join them. We still had to get the train and get home that evening and it was getting late, and I’m someone with several life-threatening food allergies and I was also struggling very badly with my eating disorder at the time and wasn’t that comfortable with eating at a stranger’s house, so we declined… but I remember tearing up a little because I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of someone being so kind and welcoming to two random tired strangers. I’ll literally never forget that man as long as I live.
The shop is gone now, has been for at least a decade, but about a year after that my mum and I were in the area and stopped in again. I was a bit healthier, we were both a lot less tired, and he remembered us.
A friend group pretended that they knew me when a creepy guy wouldn’t leave me alone.
Someone gave me a coat when I was homeless and so cold I was crying from the pain of the cold.
I was in Istanbul 2 years ago, staying in Sultanahmet and was not having a very good time – lots of pestering and harassment on the street, very overcrowded tourist sites, getting cheated in restaurants etc. I wanted to go home.
There was a café opposite my hotel near the Sirkaci metro station; the owner styled himself as a cowboy and was so friendly and honest. I think he could tell we weren’t having a great time and took care of us, letting us stay for ages drinking Turkish tea and coffee and never overcharging us. On the second day we went in there, he gave me this little plastic ladybird. Maybe the cleaning staff had found it in the hotel upstairs (Hotel Esen), or it was part of the packaging of something.
I don’t know. It was just some cheap plastic ornament, made to be thrown away again but it was an act of true kindness in a moment where I was feeling down and therefore this item is special. It is still on my living room shelf alongside my other treasured souvenirs from travelling.
One time I had been on call all night and I stopped in Tesco to buy myself breakfast, but at the checkout I realised I’d forgotten my purse. The person behind me paid for my stuff!
When I was in grade eight I was dealing with heavy depression especially for a fourteen year old, and this girl in the bathroom saw me sobbing and asked me if I was okay. We had never spoken before then and we never spoke after then but that moment has always stuck with me because at a time where my friends and family were ignoring my pain, this random stranger didn’t.
I haven’t got something that’s stuck with me for years but something happened the other day that I think will…
I was out walking my dog when out of nowhere a storm blew over and I was stuck about 3 blocks from my house leaning over my dog trying to stop golf ball sized hail from hitting him in the head, there was no shelter near by and we couldn’t move from that spot because I can’t carry him so I was just being a human shield and trying to calm him from rhe thunder aswell. I was freaking out and all of a sudden a car pulled up and honked its horn, thank god the guy wasn’t a kidnapper because I didn’t hesitate to toss my dog and myself into the back for safety. The lovely man drove us back to our house and let us sit in the car until the storm lightened up a bit.
My dog is fine asside from some bruises on his butt, but I have welts on my back and all over my head and it looks like I got blasted by paint balls 😭😭😭 and the nice man’s windscreen broke.
At my university graduation ceremony we were all getting ready to walk out, and I realized I didn’t have the college/university stole. We could buy it at the front door but I had conveniently left my card and phone with my family out in the giant crowd… the man selling the stoles pulled out his wallet and put a $10 in the cash box, handed me a stole, and said “someone did this for me on my graduation, maybe you can do it for someone else on theirs?”
My card got declined at the grocery store when I was buying baby formula. The cashier quietly paid for it herself. When I came back the next day to repay her she just smiled and said We all need help sometimes.
The manager of and older lady at an adjacent table at the fast/ casual lunch I had taken my toddler to (on a Saturday during the busy holiday seaon) who helped me clean up when said toddler projectile vomitted all over our table and surrounding floor.
I’m tearing up just thinking about it. That is a special kind of overwhelmed feeling.
Mine was once I was in the car with my dad and he picked up these two young hitchhikers and they didn’t have a place to stay and they were kind of down and out, and he offered them my apartment that they could stay with me. It sounds like I’m upset, but I wasn’t. I just thought it was so kind of him. It was in the day. Didn’t really have to be too scared. At least we weren’t and everything turned out OK and it was actually a lot of fun.
Just this morning I bought coffee and donuts for myself and my friend. And somehow, after they’d handed me the two cups, I managed to drop one. All over the floor. Not only did the young man mop it all up without a fuss, no sighs, or crankiness, they also gave me a new coffee. I’d started off my day in a mess, getting more stressed and panicky every time I made a mistake. Thanks to the kindness of the Donut King staff I was able to do a reset and start my day over again.
Heading to class early morning, it’s a bad due to cumulative bad instances.
Walked past a construction area, the older fellows literally looked up from their pit, smiled and wished me a good morning, good day etc.
they were light greetings, but I kid you not it fixed my day, and I still remember it till now.
I was in a nice five star hotel having brunch with my best friend. I wanted to treat myself because I had been helping some of my family members financially and it was a stressful time. I mentioned this to my friend and how it would be nice if someone- for once- looked out for me. When it was time to pay my bill, a gentleman behind me got up and gave me a $100 bill. He just gave me the money and left. I wish I had seen his face!
He left me and my friend completely speechless.
I think about him a lot!
I was in line at the grocery store when the lady behind me started to chat with me. I found her a bit annoying, but I kept politely chatting with her. When it was my turn at the checkout, I realized I had left my credit card in the car. I asked the cashier to put my stuff to the side while I ran out for my card. The lady behind me that I had been chatting with said no don’t worry about it. I’ve got it. She handed her card over and paid for my groceries. I thanked her profusely and felt like a total jerk for thinking she was annoying. I still think about it this day
This isn’t to brag, but I wanted to share a story and I think about this woman from time to time. I was on my way home from a job I absolutely hated. I got off the train and saw a woman sitting on a bench looking absolutely crushed. I don’t know what got into me, but I went up to her, sat down and asked if she was okay. She looked at me then started bawling. I immediately hugged her and told her it’s okay to feel how she feels. At that moment, I realized whatever I’m going through is nothing compared to what this woman is going through. I had to leave when my bus came, but I wished her well and told her she can get through it.
Whenever I’m feeling like shit I always think of that woman. I hope she is well and hope someone can be a shoulder I can cry on for me.
The elderly guy who owns the 24/7 convenience store around my corner giving me a hug when I randomly started crying because I suffered from a heartbreak. We‘re friends ever since.
I was short a few coins at the store and the person behind me just covered it without making a big deal. It was such a small thing but I never forgot it
19f year old me had just caught a tram into the city after finding g my boyfriend in bed with his ex.
I was walking past a florist, freezing cold and ugly crying when the most beautiful young lady who worked there handed me a bunch of daffodils.
As she handed them to me, she told me that I was beautiful and to be kind to myself.
Unbeknownst to her, daffodils were mine, and my (recently deceased) grandma’s favourite flower.
One week prior, I’d actually been in the UK, burying her.
I was walking home from school (HS) and it was POURING but I hadn’t prepared for rain so I was in a t-shirt. This lady (maybe 30’s) walks up to me and SHARES HER UMBRELLA WITH ME 🥺🥺 We ended up going different directions but we walked together for a good 10min
i was flying alone with a hyperactive 1.5 yr old. id managed to keep her quiet and distracted her with activities but the elegant lady in her 50s next to me noticed that i wasnt eating or anything bc of my toddler and insisted over and over that she’ll watch her while i eat, and that she’ll help me carry my bag off the plane while i carried my toddler. i didn’t mention until we were on the bus to our airport gate later while i was thanking her that i was also 6-7 months pregnant. she was so shocked and simply refused to let me carry my toddler after that and wouldnt leave my side till we absolutely had to go separate ways. i hope she feels an intense wave of love and happiness every time i think of her.
I was sobbing on a bench in a public park because a guy broke up with me. A guy saw me and offered to buy me ice cream in a very kind and not-hitting-on-me way. It was so nice of him to do that.
When I was 22, I worked in a shoe store. One particular day, it was very busy. I was the only person in the store and running around straightening stuff, fitting people, checking people out, etc.
I had a young guy come in, maybe within a year or two in either direction of my age. Super nice, clearly watching me as I puttered around just doing my thing.
He got what he needed, I checked him out and I thought that was that.
About a week later my manager got a short but absolutely lovely letter from him saying how awesome I was, and how well I knew the inventory/foot ailments (I remember that day I had a lot of people with gnarly feet that needed special considerations).
I’m 42, and still have a copy of the letter.
Thanks, Nick from Rutland Vermont! Still makes me smile when I come across that note.
This was probably more than 5 years ago. I went to Panera one day and found a phone in the booth and went to return it to the register. An elderly man comes in asking if there was a phone found and I said it was returned to the register. He comes back with a smile and hands over a dollar and says the next coffee is on him and thanks me. I never used that dollar and kept it for that sake. Pay things forward and do the right thing.
A simple comment on my outfit or my appearance makes my day
15+ years ago my mom and I were sitting at a bus stop with a bunch of groceries and a woman pulled over and gave us a ride home. She said she remembered what it was like to not have a car and trying to provide for herself. I still think about this moment.
During the pandemic a somewhat popular instagram personality was posting people’s Venmo to hopefully get them some money.
I messaged her my story, and somehow out of the 100’s of messages I am sure she got-she posted mine. I think I had a total of about 20/25 strangers donate to me and overall it was about 400 bucks.
I still get teary eyed when I think of the number of strangers who helped me not starve that month. It meant everything to me.
36 comments
One time I dropped all my stuff in public and a random girl helped me pick everything up without saying anything. Just a small moment but it really meant a lot that day.
mine was when i was having a bad day and tearing up in the corner of a coffee shop. a women who was three tables aways approached me and handed me a tissue, smiled, and said “whatever it is, you’ll get through it”. it reminded me of the magic of simple kindness and how powerful it can be
A stranger complimented my outfit when I felt really insecure that day. It was so random but meant a lot.
When I was 20 or 21 I was waiting tables, and I don’t remember how it came up, but I told a customer I wish I had a car, and she said she had a car that I could have. It wasn’t even an old beater or anything. She just gave me a car. I started crying and hugging her, and I’m crying thinking about it now >20 years later. I saw her around town a few times after that and I went out of my way to do anything I could possibly do for her. It was life changing.
Edit: I guess that wasn’t really a small act of kindness. My bad.
I was walking to work and stressed with a job I hated, husband had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was his emotional punching bag whilst he was trying to deal with it (our relationship hadn’t been good for a while before this) and my brother had killed himself earlier that year.
I don’t think I was crying but I had the weight of the world on me and was in my head.
A woman was walking the other way and just stopped me to ask if I wanted a hug. I burst out crying on her, and she was so sweet snd patient with me.
We headed off in different directions and I never asked her name.
GOD BLESS that woman because way back then I had a solid plan for leaving and although that alone didn’t stop me, it got me through that day.
I still think of her do fondly and I wish I could tell her
When my boyfriend and I were in Japan, we were in Tama and decided to go to a sushi restaurant, but we got there and it wasn’t open yet, so we had to wait.
It started pouring with rain. We saw some lady leave her apartment or something, and she handed us an umbrella and went back inside. It was so nice of her.
When my baby was a newborn. He would only nap in the stroller. I tried everything to get him to sleep in his bassinet. I was a first time mom and read about sleep crutches and bad sleep associations. I felt guilty about stroller naps and anxious because they risked an increase of sids so I tried to avoid them. I was exhausted and desperate for the baby to stop crying. I put him in a stroller and was about an hour and a half into the walk. It was the middle of winter in Ontario. The sidewalks were somewhat shoveled from snow but I was not in my right mind. I had this habit of overly caring for my baby that I forget about myself. I wasn’t wearing a jacket or mits so I was pretty frostbit. Some nice old lady stopped me in the street. She was so kind and snapped me out of whatever anxiety spiral I was going through. She just warmly stopped me for a moment and reminded me to take care of myself too. It in no way felt judgmental. It was such a small thing but I really needed someone to see me and care about me at that moment and give me the permission I guess to take care of myself.
Had an asthma attack and was suffering a coughing fit as a child whilst walking to the shops with my mum and a woman (stranger) literally rushed out of her house with her daughter with a glass of water for me! I’ll never forget that act of kindness ❤️
A woman paid for my coffee when my card rejected. I was studying to enter my PhD program and I just ran out of money working my summer job, hadn’t realized something had gone through in the account before going for coffee. It was a woman with kids and it meant a lot to me (I cried in secret after) and I really thought about what a good example that set for her kids too.
In September 2005 when I was 20, my mum and I were walking through the Little India neighbourhood in the east end of Toronto, on the way to get a bus and then a train home (about an hour away). I was very unwell at the time both mentally and physically and we’d spent the past 24+ hours at the hospital. I was sort of feeling ok in that moment though, and one of the shops we passed in that neighbourhood had some things in the window that caught my eye and I wanted to go in and look around. At the time, I was really interested in anything to do with Indian history and culture. I’m sure most of the customers were from the Indian community, but two pasty-white women (I’m a mix of English and Ukrainian; English on my dad’s side, Ukrainian on my mum’s) had just walked into their store haha. The man behind the counter was maybe around 70 and he greeted us really warmly. He said the couple of bags we were carrying looked heavy and that we seemed tired, and asked if we wanted to put them down and come into the back of the shop and he could make us some cups of chai. I think it would’ve been rude not to accept tbh, and he wasn’t wrong that we were tired, plus chai was one of my favourite drinks. After we finished the tea he mentioned that since the shop was closing soon, he’d be heading home and his wife would have dinner ready and he wondered if we wanted to join them. We still had to get the train and get home that evening and it was getting late, and I’m someone with several life-threatening food allergies and I was also struggling very badly with my eating disorder at the time and wasn’t that comfortable with eating at a stranger’s house, so we declined… but I remember tearing up a little because I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of someone being so kind and welcoming to two random tired strangers. I’ll literally never forget that man as long as I live.
The shop is gone now, has been for at least a decade, but about a year after that my mum and I were in the area and stopped in again. I was a bit healthier, we were both a lot less tired, and he remembered us.
A friend group pretended that they knew me when a creepy guy wouldn’t leave me alone.
Someone gave me a coat when I was homeless and so cold I was crying from the pain of the cold.
I was in Istanbul 2 years ago, staying in Sultanahmet and was not having a very good time – lots of pestering and harassment on the street, very overcrowded tourist sites, getting cheated in restaurants etc. I wanted to go home.
There was a café opposite my hotel near the Sirkaci metro station; the owner styled himself as a cowboy and was so friendly and honest. I think he could tell we weren’t having a great time and took care of us, letting us stay for ages drinking Turkish tea and coffee and never overcharging us. On the second day we went in there, he gave me this little plastic ladybird. Maybe the cleaning staff had found it in the hotel upstairs (Hotel Esen), or it was part of the packaging of something.
I don’t know. It was just some cheap plastic ornament, made to be thrown away again but it was an act of true kindness in a moment where I was feeling down and therefore this item is special. It is still on my living room shelf alongside my other treasured souvenirs from travelling.
One time I had been on call all night and I stopped in Tesco to buy myself breakfast, but at the checkout I realised I’d forgotten my purse. The person behind me paid for my stuff!
When I was in grade eight I was dealing with heavy depression especially for a fourteen year old, and this girl in the bathroom saw me sobbing and asked me if I was okay. We had never spoken before then and we never spoke after then but that moment has always stuck with me because at a time where my friends and family were ignoring my pain, this random stranger didn’t.
I haven’t got something that’s stuck with me for years but something happened the other day that I think will…
I was out walking my dog when out of nowhere a storm blew over and I was stuck about 3 blocks from my house leaning over my dog trying to stop golf ball sized hail from hitting him in the head, there was no shelter near by and we couldn’t move from that spot because I can’t carry him so I was just being a human shield and trying to calm him from rhe thunder aswell. I was freaking out and all of a sudden a car pulled up and honked its horn, thank god the guy wasn’t a kidnapper because I didn’t hesitate to toss my dog and myself into the back for safety. The lovely man drove us back to our house and let us sit in the car until the storm lightened up a bit.
My dog is fine asside from some bruises on his butt, but I have welts on my back and all over my head and it looks like I got blasted by paint balls 😭😭😭 and the nice man’s windscreen broke.
At my university graduation ceremony we were all getting ready to walk out, and I realized I didn’t have the college/university stole. We could buy it at the front door but I had conveniently left my card and phone with my family out in the giant crowd… the man selling the stoles pulled out his wallet and put a $10 in the cash box, handed me a stole, and said “someone did this for me on my graduation, maybe you can do it for someone else on theirs?”
My card got declined at the grocery store when I was buying baby formula. The cashier quietly paid for it herself. When I came back the next day to repay her she just smiled and said We all need help sometimes.
The manager of and older lady at an adjacent table at the fast/ casual lunch I had taken my toddler to (on a Saturday during the busy holiday seaon) who helped me clean up when said toddler projectile vomitted all over our table and surrounding floor.
I’m tearing up just thinking about it. That is a special kind of overwhelmed feeling.
Mine was once I was in the car with my dad and he picked up these two young hitchhikers and they didn’t have a place to stay and they were kind of down and out, and he offered them my apartment that they could stay with me. It sounds like I’m upset, but I wasn’t. I just thought it was so kind of him. It was in the day. Didn’t really have to be too scared. At least we weren’t and everything turned out OK and it was actually a lot of fun.
Just this morning I bought coffee and donuts for myself and my friend. And somehow, after they’d handed me the two cups, I managed to drop one. All over the floor. Not only did the young man mop it all up without a fuss, no sighs, or crankiness, they also gave me a new coffee. I’d started off my day in a mess, getting more stressed and panicky every time I made a mistake. Thanks to the kindness of the Donut King staff I was able to do a reset and start my day over again.
Heading to class early morning, it’s a bad due to cumulative bad instances.
Walked past a construction area, the older fellows literally looked up from their pit, smiled and wished me a good morning, good day etc.
they were light greetings, but I kid you not it fixed my day, and I still remember it till now.
I was in a nice five star hotel having brunch with my best friend. I wanted to treat myself because I had been helping some of my family members financially and it was a stressful time. I mentioned this to my friend and how it would be nice if someone- for once- looked out for me. When it was time to pay my bill, a gentleman behind me got up and gave me a $100 bill. He just gave me the money and left. I wish I had seen his face!
He left me and my friend completely speechless.
I think about him a lot!
I was in line at the grocery store when the lady behind me started to chat with me. I found her a bit annoying, but I kept politely chatting with her. When it was my turn at the checkout, I realized I had left my credit card in the car. I asked the cashier to put my stuff to the side while I ran out for my card. The lady behind me that I had been chatting with said no don’t worry about it. I’ve got it. She handed her card over and paid for my groceries. I thanked her profusely and felt like a total jerk for thinking she was annoying. I still think about it this day
This isn’t to brag, but I wanted to share a story and I think about this woman from time to time. I was on my way home from a job I absolutely hated. I got off the train and saw a woman sitting on a bench looking absolutely crushed. I don’t know what got into me, but I went up to her, sat down and asked if she was okay. She looked at me then started bawling. I immediately hugged her and told her it’s okay to feel how she feels. At that moment, I realized whatever I’m going through is nothing compared to what this woman is going through. I had to leave when my bus came, but I wished her well and told her she can get through it.
Whenever I’m feeling like shit I always think of that woman. I hope she is well and hope someone can be a shoulder I can cry on for me.
The elderly guy who owns the 24/7 convenience store around my corner giving me a hug when I randomly started crying because I suffered from a heartbreak. We‘re friends ever since.
I was short a few coins at the store and the person behind me just covered it without making a big deal. It was such a small thing but I never forgot it
19f year old me had just caught a tram into the city after finding g my boyfriend in bed with his ex.
I was walking past a florist, freezing cold and ugly crying when the most beautiful young lady who worked there handed me a bunch of daffodils.
As she handed them to me, she told me that I was beautiful and to be kind to myself.
Unbeknownst to her, daffodils were mine, and my (recently deceased) grandma’s favourite flower.
One week prior, I’d actually been in the UK, burying her.
I was walking home from school (HS) and it was POURING but I hadn’t prepared for rain so I was in a t-shirt. This lady (maybe 30’s) walks up to me and SHARES HER UMBRELLA WITH ME 🥺🥺 We ended up going different directions but we walked together for a good 10min
i was flying alone with a hyperactive 1.5 yr old. id managed to keep her quiet and distracted her with activities but the elegant lady in her 50s next to me noticed that i wasnt eating or anything bc of my toddler and insisted over and over that she’ll watch her while i eat, and that she’ll help me carry my bag off the plane while i carried my toddler. i didn’t mention until we were on the bus to our airport gate later while i was thanking her that i was also 6-7 months pregnant. she was so shocked and simply refused to let me carry my toddler after that and wouldnt leave my side till we absolutely had to go separate ways. i hope she feels an intense wave of love and happiness every time i think of her.
I was sobbing on a bench in a public park because a guy broke up with me. A guy saw me and offered to buy me ice cream in a very kind and not-hitting-on-me way. It was so nice of him to do that.
When I was 22, I worked in a shoe store. One particular day, it was very busy. I was the only person in the store and running around straightening stuff, fitting people, checking people out, etc.
I had a young guy come in, maybe within a year or two in either direction of my age. Super nice, clearly watching me as I puttered around just doing my thing.
He got what he needed, I checked him out and I thought that was that.
About a week later my manager got a short but absolutely lovely letter from him saying how awesome I was, and how well I knew the inventory/foot ailments (I remember that day I had a lot of people with gnarly feet that needed special considerations).
I’m 42, and still have a copy of the letter.
Thanks, Nick from Rutland Vermont! Still makes me smile when I come across that note.
This was probably more than 5 years ago. I went to Panera one day and found a phone in the booth and went to return it to the register. An elderly man comes in asking if there was a phone found and I said it was returned to the register. He comes back with a smile and hands over a dollar and says the next coffee is on him and thanks me. I never used that dollar and kept it for that sake. Pay things forward and do the right thing.
A simple comment on my outfit or my appearance makes my day
15+ years ago my mom and I were sitting at a bus stop with a bunch of groceries and a woman pulled over and gave us a ride home. She said she remembered what it was like to not have a car and trying to provide for herself. I still think about this moment.
During the pandemic a somewhat popular instagram personality was posting people’s Venmo to hopefully get them some money.
I messaged her my story, and somehow out of the 100’s of messages I am sure she got-she posted mine. I think I had a total of about 20/25 strangers donate to me and overall it was about 400 bucks.
I still get teary eyed when I think of the number of strangers who helped me not starve that month. It meant everything to me.