To keep it short and simple, life has been throwing everything it's got at me. It has been a tough few months but I have been hanging in there with the faith that it has to get better and it will.

It was a normal Saturday in late March and I was coming back from a doctor's appointment. On the way back my mother suggested that we stop at Trader Joes to do a little grocery shopping. I let out a groan as all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and worry about everything going wrong in my life. Dramatic? I know. My mother pulled up to a parking spot and we got out and walked into the store. Keep in mind, it was Saturday. There were families and little kids everywhere, carts bumping into each other, and a giant crowd of people hovering over the one food sample station in the corner of the store. I just wanted to leave.

As I looked over at the food sample station, I saw my father waiting for the piece of bagel and cream cheese that the employee was giving to everyone. A smile escaped my mouth and I proceeded over to my father. By the time I got there, the crowd had cleared up and the samples were over. The employee looked at me and said "honey would you like a piece?" I nodded and she asked me to wait. When I looked back, my father was with my mother and they were looking at the avocados. I decided to just stay there by myself and wait for my sample.

I was just looking around, my hands in my jacket, the jacket that looked like it was eating me just waiting for my little piece of bagel that I was regretting now.

"So what does today have in store for you today"? said the employee.

"Um, I am on spring break right now". I said quickly with a half smile.

After a small exchange of what college I was attending and what I was studying, she began asking me how I was doing. It was the big question. The one where you take a few seconds to reflect and then end up questioning yourself, "so how am I actually doing"?

I was a little surprised, considering the fact that I had met this woman not even five minutes ago but for some reason, she seemed genuine. She was actually asking me. I do not know if I gave of a sad and exhausted vibe, because that is definitely how I had been feeling dealing with the medical and personal issues that have recently come into my life.

I kept it simple and just said that I was okay, and briefly mentioned that some things have been tough such as friends/relationships, academics, and managing emotions but that I was going to be okay.

Then came some of the best advice that a stranger has ever given me.

"Friends come and go, that is how it works. The right people will always find their way to you. You just have to keep smiling, because you have a beautiful smiled.

I smiled and she handed me a piece of the bagel, I thanked her and left.

All this happened at a Trader Joes. In the least expected of places, someone I did not even know helped me feel better about myself and the situations I was dealing with.

She truly was an angel is disguise because she said the things that I needed to hear.

Sometimes, messages come to us in the weirdest ways. I was forced to go to Trader Joes with my mom that day and ended up coming out with a smile because someone I did not even know managed to make me feel the slightest bit happy.

I realized that nothing is more powerful than a smile. Everyone always tells me that I need to smile more and I never understood it until now.

A smile can go a long way and bring you closer to feeling happy and at peace.

It is crazy to think that you never know when something like this can happen which also taught me to never escape anything in life just because I am feeling a certain way.

You never know where your next message is waiting for you...