“Never doubt the power of a smile, a touch, a kind word, or any act of caring. All have the potential to turn a life around.” – unknown

Last year I was walking to my on-campus apartment when a small, silver car pulled up beside me and a girl jumped out. She was holding a red rose, which she gave to me with a smile. She didn’t say anything to me, just hopped back into the passenger’s seat. I waved at her and the driver and they drove away.

The rose was attached to a poem that I honestly can’t remember right now. I do remember that it was printed on a slip of paper with railroad tracks. I thought it was somewhat sappy, but also meaningful to have a picture of railroad tracks tied to a rose.

Because life is a journey. And every once in a while, we need kindness from strangers.

I was not having a bad day, but when I became stressed later that week, I just looked at the tiny rose that I was drying in my window and felt a little better.

I told my roommate about the random act of kindness that was given to me. She suggested that I should give the note along with chocolate or some small gift to someone on campus the next day.

I went to an all-girls high school and I loved it, mostly because it wasn’t unusual for a girl you had never seen before to stop you in the hallway to say hi or leave a note on your locker. It was a loving environment. Turns out that it is harder to give something to a complete stranger on a co-ed campus.

I managed to give a girl who looked just a little stressed a small bag of gummy bears attached to the poem that the girls had given me. On the back of the poem, I briefly explained how the railroad tracks had gotten to me and explained that by giving this present, I wanted to start a chain reaction of sorts. A chain of kindness.

I don’t know if she passed it on like I suggested or if she even saw the note. I would get it if she threw it away because strangers are scary. We have been taught to not to talk to strangers. And for a good reason. Not all strangers are kind.

But some strangers are the nicest, gentlest, most humble people you will ever meet. Like the guy that called security when I broke my leg and then stayed around until the paramedics came, the paramedics themselves, a man at the grocery store who picked up dropped cream cheese when my hands were too full, and the tow truck guy who let me sit in his truck to get warm and helped me find a tire company on New Year’s Day.

Actions don’t have to be big to mean a lot. They don’t always come with a new TV or a refurbished house. Meaningful actions can be as small as smiles, holding open doors, or pressing the button for your floor on the elevator. I don’t want to be sappy, but please be kind.