Random Acts of Kindness

Yesterday someone did something nice for me. 

I was at Barnes and Noble, trying to relax and do something I like before the dreaded AP Lang test the next morning. I wanted to get a National Geographic book on photography, but it was 30 dollars and I was pretty sure I only had 27. I ended up just getting a magazine on photography and a magazine on weddings. The cashier smiled and winked and sang, "Someone's getting married!" I just awkwardly shook my head and said no. It's weird how often I get asked that. Do I look like I'm in my 20's? Anyway, the total was about 11 dollars so I was sure I'd have enough. I gave her my debit card, and apparently, there was only 4 dollars on it. I told the cashier that I'd just come back and she said she would hold it for me. All of the sudden the woman behind me asked the cashier how much the difference was. The cashier told her 7 dollars. The lady and her young daughter walked up and she said that she would just pay. It was so nice. I didn't even know how to respond... I just said, "Oh no you don't have to do that..." The lady insisted and I just thanked her over and over. The cashier said "Wow that is so nice!" I didn't know what else to say. Maybe I should have gotten her name so I could send her a thank-you note with the 7 dollars somehow. I know it was only 7 dollars... but still, a total stranger just offering to pay because some teenager didn't do her math right after she bought two Starbucks frappuccinos earlier? (She didn't know that...but still) Who does that? Getting the magazines isn't even what made me happy... I really could have survived without them, but just a random stranger being unimaginably kind to someone made me feel happy. 

Though they are rare, I've heard of these random acts of kindness a lot. Once when I was little some random man in a restaurant paid for me and my parent's meal. I've heard of a friend or two of mine paying for the person behind them in the drive through line. This is more common, but if someone's car breaks down or they slide into the ditch in the winter, people pull over on the side of the road to help them, and even give them their coat while they wait. My boyfriend and I dug someone out of a snowbank once. My dad's pulled people out lots of times. But paying for someone's meal (or magazines) purely out of random kindness? 

That's just wonderful. It makes me want to get a job just so I can do things like that for other people. I want to buy breakfast at Perkins for some old lady sitting all alone. I'm always tempted to leave random notes of kindness around at school or on people's cars, but I don't want anyone to see me do it or recognize my handwriting. I'm also tempted to create a twitter account that just tweets compliments at random people in the twittersphere but I feel like that might just be seen as creepy... 

I always see people tweet about random things that they want... or about how happy they would be if someone brought them food. Of course no one ever does that. But imagine of someone did? If someone they may not even be good friends with showed up with exactly what they wanted... just to be nice. Or if someone mailed them something they really want with no return address so they have no idea who it's from. I want to do that for people. I just want to see how they react... but I mostly just want to let everyone know that people care about them and notice them even if they aren't friends or close friends. People like that lady at Barnes and Noble care about people. Just people. Complete strangers are still people. I love that and I want to be that kind of person too. You can make someone's day.. maybe week or even month- just by a simple random act of kindness.