“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” so they say, but I absolutely hate shopping — especially around Christmas time. Going from store to store, contemplating how much what costs, how far you can push your budget, and if you should splurge and buy this or that to improve your appearance? It’s a series of nonsensical questions that I review, and they drive me absolutely crazy. Shopping is ridiculous. I pray a lot while I’m shopping, because I want to stay so close to God when I’m most vulnerable.

What girl honestly doesn’t have esteem issues to where they want to spend money on things that don’t matter? Sorry, that’s beside the point. I’m in Claire’s shopping for my little sister’s secret Santa gift, and I make conversation with the cashier, of course. This day (I’m not really sure why, because it’s out of the ordinary) I struggled with connecting or being comfortable with the people around me. The holiday vibe, man, shoppers are fierce and intimidating as heck. Regardless, I wanted to make an effort.

So, this cashier lady looked about somewhere around my age, or maybe her early twenties. She had braces, so I kind of assumed she was younger, actually, but I saw her "M" letter necklace, so I figured that’s a perfect opportunity. I asked her what the letter stood for and she told me it was for her name: Mercedes. I went on to tell her that my sister was almost named Mercedes and I was almost named Jordan — truest fact. We just talked over that and she brought up her little brother. I learned her little brother is one year old and it's just the two of them, but I never got her age, which is OK because it leaves room for inferences.

Well, I went on and asked her if she liked her job, which I found to be funny because she was really quite honest. She straight up with no hesitation at all said, “No way. I mean it’s a job, and it’s Claire's so there's nothing really special about it.” With the holidays, I can't imagine what it'd be like working in retail, anyways. She sounded miserable. Also, the way she talked about it being just her and her brother made me wonder. You don't know who people are or what they've been through until you gain the courage to ask and receive with an open mind.

I can easily just walk away with whatever judgement call I feel is most comfortable and fitting from my perspective, but really, I do care. It's a huge fear of mine that something may not be right and I can't do anything about it. The best I can do, though, is at least be intentional and care enough to listen to them: greet people with a cool smile and invest in questions about who they are.

Seriously, friends, it's the little things that matter. I might be a crazy sensitive and empathetic human being, so this may or may not resonate with most, but if anything this can be an example of being stupid brave and loving.

Well, she finished bagging up my items and I said, “Thanks Mercedes, I’ll see ya.”

She bid me with, “Hey, it was nice talking with you. Have a good day, Sam.”

Man, what I really loved about meeting Mercedes was that she used my name. Most people I meet or talk to never really use my name, if they even remember — especially if we meet briefly in passing. Also, the way she said it like I was familiar to her was so comforting. Mercedes left an imprint on me because when I walked away I felt like she was a friend. Goodness, and that made it all the more worth building the courage.