Caring, at unexpected times, is a big theme in my life. It is the title of my TED talk for a very good reason, as it is a value that I lead my life with every single day. Like I said, if a person with a disability goes out of their way to hold a door open for a stranger, nine times out of ten they will be surprised, in my opinion. Today, I want to share a story that made my day – as I often think it can for anyone – because someone cared for me unexpectedly. I recently shared this story on the Actively Caring for People website and on my personal Facebook page but I also wanted to share it here for those who may not have access to those mediums.
Last Thursday, I was on campus getting lunch and running a bit late for a meeting with a new supervisor (aren’t I always?). I grabbed food quickly, and go to swipe my Hokie Passport, the ID card with my meal plan on it, to pay. As the cashier swipes my card and I wait patiently – he has to swipe it a few times to get it to work. I nervously am hoping that it works because, well, I don’t want to use real world money! Plus, since I had a flex meal plan in the previous semester, I am entitled to 50% off of my full price. This means I could pay 6 meal plan dollars instead of 12 real world dollars.
As I wait, I subconsciously scan the room and met eyes with a girl named Alyssa. I had met Alyssa through a mutual friend (Scinju) a few months earlier. I remember dancing alongside Alyssa a few months ago, sipping on cold cocktails and dancing in a local restaurant as a friend sang on karaoke, as I asked her what she had been up to in recent weeks since school let out for summer. Soon, the cashier painfully makes me aware and I realize that I don’t have a summer meal plan, like I thought I did. although I’m in summer classes, I guess I decided to NOT get a meal plan for the duration of the first summer session. Instead of using meal plan Hokie-Land money, I hand over my debit card to pay and be on my way.
But wait.
“Can you see if my meal plan has any money on it?” Alyssa says, as she hands over her Hokie P to the cashier. The cashier doubles back – “are you sure?” Alyssa doesn’t flinch. The cashier punches in Alyssa’s meal into the system along with mine, and goes on to check her balance. Alyssa confirms that she would like to pick up my lunch for me, without even being prompted. I had already mentally subtracted $12 from my personal account balance, cursing myself for not just going through the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way; quicker and cheaper for a lunch! But, no – Alyssa intervened in a very selfless way.
“Have you ever heard of Actively Caring?” I asked Alyssa, and I was ecstatic that her answer was yes. I may have only met Alyssa a few times before, but I was moved by her unexpected act of kindness. On a day that was sandwiched in between many other great, fantastic moments, Alyssa’s act of kindness resonated with me like no other – becuase I didn’t know it was coming. Alyssa was clearly the kind of person who deserved an AC4P wristband, so I promptly took mine off and handed it to her, in her thanks for paying for my lunch.
It’s moments like this that make the Actively Caring movement so real in my eyes.
