A few weeks ago, my friend Katie and I were at a fraternity party for the Fourth of July. There were dozens of people at this party, and everybody seemed to be everywhere. Girls were leaving their purses out in the open while guys were leaving their wallets next to the pool.
I was amazed at how most people at this party had all of their items scattered around, it seemed as if they weren't worried that somebody would steal something. As I was making my way through the crowd, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an iPhone laying on the ground. Nobody was around the phone so I assumed that it had fallen out of somebody's pocket.
I told Katie that we should pick up the phone before it gets stomped on, the owner had to be around somewhere. Within a few minutes, somebody called the phone and on the other end was a girl who was panicking because she had lost her phone. I told her where we had found the phone, and that we would hold it for her until she got back to the party.
After a matter of time, the girl drove back to the party to retrieve her phone. When she came up to me, she gave me the largest hug which was something I was not expecting. I could see that she had tears in her eyes, she told me that it was her little sister's phone and that they thought it must have been stollen. Once she had the phone in her hand and thanked me, I assumed she would head out.
But instead she started looking through her purse, she took out five dollars, and handed it to me. It took me a second to realize that she was trying to give me the cash. I told her that she didn't owe me any money, I was just doing a nice deed!
She forced the five dollars in my hand and said that she could never thank me enough. I could have easily ignored the phone or stolen it, but I decided to return it to the owner instead. She started to leave and said, "I know that five dollars isn't enough, but at least you can get food!"
After Katie and I left the party, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and used the five dollars to help pay for our dinner. Both of us were still surprised at the money I had been given and the girl's response to me returning the phone.
I moved into my apartment last week, and was in desperate need of help when it came to moving and hanging decorations up. Somebody volunteered to help me hang up my decorations and I appreciated it so much. I thanked them multiple times and ended up making them dinner to show my appreciation.
Sadly, my repetitive thank you's was not enough for them. After all the moving and decorating was done, they expected much more. It was as if they thought I was going to pay them for their help or take them out to dinner for the nice deed they had done.
As a broke college student, I do not have cash to hand out to the people who volunteer to help me. It saddened me that some people think that when they do something kind, they should receive an reward of some type otherwise they are just dissatisfied.
I think the biggest reward is helping somebody out and seeing them with a smile on their face or getting a large thank you from them. Next time you offer to help somebody, no matter what the situation is, remember that the best things in life are free.
