When I was younger I was always taught that being nice to people never goes out of style. That a smile or a wave to someone you know, or don't know, isn't such a bad idea every now and then. I've grown up with the motto "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Now that 19 years have gone by, I've realized not everyone follows that rule. Not everyone was raised to give others as much respect as you would like to receive. And I've learned that it's okay. Regardless of the girls or boys who just don't have a care in the world besides caring about themselves, I've done my best to stick to what I've always known, which is that being nice to people never goes out of style.
Flashback to high school. It was the beginning of the end. The month of June. The start of summer of senior year where you want to have bonfires and fun nights every night with the people you know will be your friends for life (in reality, only three of them actually end up at your wedding). My friend was going to her cousin's graduation party. She was late to the party; she usually pulled up to parties late. She also took a wrong turn and ended up at the wrong house. When she pulled into the driveway she came across her best friend's younger sister and realized that she had pulled into her best friend's house instead of going to the graduation party.
She parked the car and asked the younger sister where she was going. She told her she was just running into her house to grab something. So my friend waited for her on her driveway and told her she was going to drive her to the party and that she looked beautiful that day. The younger sister ran out of the house, jumped into the car and they had the best time at the graduation party together.
That small gesture saved her life. My friend found out a year later from her best friend that her younger sister wasn't just going into her house to grab something. She was going inside to do something that everyone who's met her, every person's heart she's touched, would cry for days over. No one knew at the time how sad she was, including my friend. But she saved her life. All the sweet younger sister needed was someone to make her realize how beautiful and great she was.
My friend cried after she found that out. What were the odds that she would take that wrong turn and end up there at the very moment her best friend's sister needed her the most? She didn't know how to respond, how to grasp the fact that the little gesture she made, just simply driving her to the party and giving her one compliment, would make such an impact. She didn't know till a year later that the wrong turn was part of God's plan for her to take that day.
When my friend was younger she was taught that being nice to people never goes out of style, and that has made all the difference.
