A man and his little girl came to the waiting room I was in at the hospital. I was alone at the time as my mom told the staff to watch me as she’d quickly make a visit to a patient. The man and his daughter looked around for a couple seats but there were none. The seat beside me was empty and so was another one beside a woman sitting in the corner of the row ahead of me.Â
Without any hesitation, I got up, walked to the other row, and asked the woman to scooch over for me to sit beside her instead. The man recognized I did that for him and held his heart as he thanked me. He then placed his daughter on the seat I left and sat beside her.
I must’ve been 7 years old at the time.
I know it’s small but that gesture is what made me realize the kind of person I wanted to be growing up. It’s one of my first memories being considerate towards a stranger and thanked for it. I was so young and just beginning to understand the beauty of small acts of kindness without any obvious reward.Â
I parted from that encounter a better person. None of the adults in the room thought to help and I did, being the second youngest in the room excluding the man’s daughter. I felt proud for that reason at the time like I solved a problem adults couldn’t.
When we help others, we help ourselves. I’m glad I learned that early on from that quick interaction. I have much self-love now and that may be a result of perceiving myself to be a good person. Being good is often determined by our actions when no one is watching. Knowing the actions I’ve taken privately and/or anonymously since then, I think I am, for the most part, a good person and that makes me happy.Â
Thank you for taking the time to read this story of mine and I hope it encourages you all to be kind to others, regardless of whether you know them or not.
©Parting Stories
This is so touching to read. Always be kind! I see many times that no one gives up seats for old people, disabled or pregnant women. Again I cannot judge because some people have invisible illnesses. Still, some people even put backpacks next to them.
I find that I am sometimes too kind. Whenever I see someone around age 50 or over, I offer then a seat. Sometimes they get offended saying they do not need it. I still feel it is better to ask.
That’s a really sweet example of showing social awareness from such a young age. I’m glad the memory stayed with you.