Story 2
When I moved to New York City alone at 18, I was trying to adjust to city life after my small Southern hometown. I’d never ridden the subway before and didn’t know how to buy a MetroCard.
I was standing in front of the only working machine, and a line had formed behind me. I knew people were waiting, and I panicked. Some started yelling at me, “Hurry up!” My eyes filled with tears, which made the situation worse.
Then a man stepped out of the line and asked everyone to calm down. He approached me, showed me how to do it step by step, and even bought me a 12-ride pass. “Next time someone yells at you, yell back and we’ll leave you alone,” he said, patting me on the shoulder.
At that moment, I no longer felt so alone. I doubt I would have stayed in New York and been able to enjoy all the wonders that awaited me without his kindness and guidance. © Reddit/Wiffle_Sn***
Story 4
During my probationary period, I missed three days of work in a row. I was convinced I’d be fired. I didn’t know that my colleague Jake had gone to HR and said I was “sneaking” overtime to help him with “family issues.” In reality, that wasn’t the case: he just knew I was struggling after a breakup.
The department ignored my absence. Six months later, I was promoted. It wasn’t until years after we left that he admitted his actions to me.
Story 5
I had a severe panic attack in the middle of the street. No one knew I had recently lost my job. At that moment, a woman approached me, grabbed my arm, and shouted,
“There you are! I’ve been trying so hard to find you.”
“Are you okay?” she whispered, still holding me. She took me aside and sat next to me until I could breathe normally. “It happened to me too,” she said softly. “Spread the good side.” Then she left. I never saw her again.
Story 7
When my son was a baby, my first wife left us. It was hard, but I got through it.
One evening, I was having dinner with friends. There was no changing table in the men’s restroom, and I needed to change the baby’s diaper. I asked a woman coming out of the women’s restroom if one was available. She checked and told me I could come in.
Then she came up to me and offered to change her shoes while I packed the diaper bag. She hugged me and insisted, even though I’d told her I could handle it. She must have seen I was barely holding back a tantrum.
While this complete stranger was changing my son’s diaper, I cried for a minute, then thanked her wholeheartedly and went back to my friends feeling a little lighter.
