A few weeks ago, some friends randomly texted me, “Hey, want to go downtown!?” It was a Friday and I was in the library.  Of course my gut reaction was “yes”.  But I wasn’t sure…it wasn’t in my plans, I had planned to get homework done for most of the night.  Well, I didn’t have too much work to finish so I figured that, you know, everything is alright in moderation, right?.  So, I decided to join these friends at a local popular Mexican restaurant named El Rodeo (or, “El Rod’s” as the kids call it these days :)) for dinner.  And so the story begins. 

On my way from the library to El Rod’s, my friends texted me and said they would be a lot later than they had intended; but I was already on my way. I decided to pop in to the coffee shop across the street, Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea, to catch up on some e-mails and get some work done.  I’m never one to waste a down moment when I can be productive.

As I sat in that coffee shop, I looked up and met eyes with a man named Mohammed.  Mohammed and I had only met once briefly, through Actively Caring, and although I noticed the green wristband he was wearing, it was energetic greeting that really intrigued me.  Mohammed and I chatted for a few moments, him telling me what was going on in his life and vice versa.  I soon handed him a card with my e-mail address on it and asked him to contact me; I had to run and meet friends for dinner, but I didn’t want to leave the conversation.

Moh was true and e-mailed me a few weeks later, and we met for coffee again at Mill Mountain.  I wanted to make it a point to stay connected to Moh because of his profound energy, optimism, and drive.  It’s contagious.  I always leave conversations with Moh feeling energized.  I think he is a really impressive man that will make an amazing impact on and in his home country of Tanzania, and you’ll learn about that if you read this story about him.  This morning, we met for coffee again, but this time at a local Starbucks…and so the second part of the story begins. 

I arrive to the coffee shop, get settled, and greet Moh. I begin to fish for my wallet in my pocket, so that I may purchase a coffee and prepare for our chat. But Moh jumps up.

I can get your coffee for you! What would you like?

There’s that energy again. I am beyond grateful and am excited by the prospect of being able to return the favor to Moh in the near future.  He orders and delivers a Hazelnut Frappacino to the table (DELICIOUS, I tell you! I love Hazelnut-flavored anything, especially coffee) for me.  As I examine my drink and begin to taste it, I see something amazing written on the side…

 

Wow.

I am beside myself. I mean, what? Who is this person?! Why did they write this? Of course, I am flattered, but what an unsuspecting way to absolutely make someone’s day. I am constantly on a search to do that for others, so when someone does that for me…I’m just SO happy! And I had only been awake for like an hour!

I stare at the cup and I am just beside myself. I look around, and realize that there are FOUR baristas. How am I going to figure this out?! I’m so unsure of who made this amazing concoction and was so kind as to write such a flattering set of words onto my cup. As I examine it and continue chatting with Moh, my mind is all over the place as he tells me about his upcoming trip to Tanzania, I tell him about my upcoming trip to Texas.  It was the amazing, intellectually curious, and moving conversation that we usually share.  

it just reinstates everything I’ve told my students and anyone else who will listen, over the years; be kind to others, and others will notice. Now, I am not kind or caring just to receive the above amazing and honoring attention. I am kind because it’s what gives me energy. It’s what helps me get out of bed (or, in my case this morning, off of the couch) in the morning.  These kind words and compliments were a side effect. A symptom. A consequence. In the best way possible. Civility is being kind because you have to. Caring is being kind because you want to. Not just because it’s the right thing to do – but because it’s what you want to do.

As always, I left this morning’s coffee with Moh as energized and motivated as ever. I left there and gave a special campus tour to the family of one of my supervisor’s; a 50 minute walk around campus turned into a 2-hour chat about what was most important to this prospective student in his college or university.  I’m not sure if he’ll come to Virginia Tech, but as I left him, his Mom, his Dad, and his brother, I couldn’t help but think…I hope I at least inspired him to consider Tech. Just like I was inspired by those words on a cup.

But back to this morning – on the way out of the coffee shop, I stopped and asked one of the barista’s, who looked vaguely familiar, a quick question.

Excuse me, but would you happen to know who made this drink for me? I wanted to say thank you to them.

She replies.

I did! You know, we came to Tech in the same year. I’ve seen you around. I see your Facebook posts. You’re doing good things!!

I’m sure a smile the size of Texas popped onto my face. Honored. So honored.

Thank you so much…you absolutely made my day.

The barista, Kelly, goes on to tell me about how we met freshman year. You know, one of the things that keeps me up at night is when I forget someone’s name.  I live by the quote “No matter what language you speak, a person’s name is the most beautiful sound.”  Names transcend barriers of any kind.  This is part of the reason why I spend so much time on social media; I am constantly trying to remember the names of those I met, those strangers that are becoming friends.  When I popped onto Kelly’s Facebook after I left the coffee shop, I saw that we became friends all the way back in August 2008 – my very fist semester at Tech!  Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to engage much with Kelly, individually, but this morning just confirmed what I’ve thought for a while; you don’t have to touch someone directly in order to affect them. And hopefully you’re affecting them in a positive way.

For example, when I’m giving campus tours, I’m often thinking, “sure, I’m helping these people on my tour decide what university they will go to,” but at the same time I also am considering the fact that there are people, other Hokies, watching me.  These are people who might be employees in the area I’m talking about, or their major may be part of the “Beer Brewing Science and Technology” (Food Science Technology) program, and they may hear me talk about the only class I took in that program.  They might not hear a darn thing I say but instead think “Wow, look at the guy doing tours backwards in a wheelchair. If he can do it, maybe I can do it too.”  You never know who’s watching, so why not inspire others if you can, and be kind as often as you can?

So, to bring this post full circle, I also believe that everything happens for a reason.  If I had not accepted the invite to head downtown that fateful Friday night, I would have stayed at the library.  Had my friends not been a bit late, I wouldn’t have stopped into Mill Mountain and ran into Moh. Without our commitment to staying in touch, Moh and I would not have been at Starbucks this morning. And had my supervisor not asked me to give that campus tour I would have met Moh at our originally scheduled time of 10:00 and I may not have had this rewarding run-in with Kelly.

TL:DR. Be open. Be friendly. Do good for others.  If you do, you just might get a free coffee from a friend with an inspirational message from another that pushes you through your day, even when it’s not so easy. 

Well, the buzzer on my laundromat dryer just went off…time to get to folding. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.