This one is going to be a short story, But a reminder to stay aware of what is happening physically around you. Because the world changes, sometimes we need reminders of the hope, love, and light people can carry.
About a year ago, I was driving for one of the ride-sharing platforms. I ended up picking up three high school girls after school let out. They piled into the backseat and off we went.
They were talking, at first, about typical high school teenager things. And I was getting to the point of tuning them out and tuning into my music. Just before I could they got quiet, I figured they were looking at their phones.
And then one of them spoke up and said, "Do ya'll know ____?" The other two responded saying yeah and things like what classes they had with the other student. Still typical high school teenage talk. The one who asked the question said, "Well I think we should talk to them tomorrow. And ask them if they want to sit with us at lunch. They always seem so sad so let's be friends with them too."
The other two didn't even hesitate to say yes. No objections, no pauses. No gossip or questions about the other student. Just a simple yeah we should do that.
At that moment I started to cry a little bit because these children are our future. And we like to say how terrible kids are and how teenagers can be. But these three girls without rhyme or reason to do so just decided to be caring to someone they don't know. All because one noticed they looked sad.
That is the hope we can hold onto for the future. The hope is that things can get better and that we need to do better to inspire more of that.
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