Something happened to me last week and I've been thinking about it ever since. My roommate was volunteering at a student government event at my school and I was keeping her company. A guy that I had known almost two years ago, pre-COVID was also there. This guy was a part of a friend group that had split apart right before COVID and I had assumed that he was on the opposite side that I was. So when he reached out his hand and said "long time no see!" I was shocked. I felt anxious and like he was only talking to me so he'd have a story to tell later. But the more we talked, he actually seemed genuine. So when the event finally ended, my roommate and I decided to go to Starbucks and we invited this guy to go with us. We're walking there and I'm making jokes about being broke and begging the barista for a Pumpkin Spice Latte because I only have seven dollars in my bank account. We get there and the guy orders first while my roommate decides what she wants. I hear him order a PSL (pumpkin spice latte) and I think that he just thought it sounded good when I said it, but then when the barista asks if he wants whipped cream, he turns and asks me if I want whipped cream. I'm so shocked, more shocked than I was when he first acknowledged me. He finishes ordering, pays, and walks back over to us.
"Did you just buy me coffee?"
"Yes"
"Why did you do that? You didn't have to."
"You only have seven dollars in your bank account. Don't worry about it."
I'm literally tearing up at this point. I don't know why this gesture hit me so hard. That he would just buy me a coffee for no reason. And a large coffee that had to cost at least five dollars at that. And that he was so nonchalant about it!! Like he had not just performed the greatest act of generosity that I had ever witnessed. But wait, it gets better.
I bet you're all thinking that he did it to flirt with me. Right? I thought that too at first and I was genuinely scared because I have a boyfriend and I don't like hurting people's feelings. But he didn't try to flirt with me at all. He gave me my drink, waited with my roommate and me while her drink was made, walked with us back to the school, making small talk, and at the school, we parted ways. It was amazing.
The kindness that I experienced was not done in order to gain something. It was done just to be nice. I just can't get over the spontaneity of the situation. I hardly ever think of doing things like that for others, and not just because I'm broke 90% of the time. I've only ever bought things for my close friends, or for the person in the car behind me in a drive-thru situation. And I'm sure to this guy, it really was no big deal and he hasn't even thought about it since but that's what makes it even more special. The fact that he isn't blown away by it. That it's so natural for him to buy coffee for a girl he hasn't spoken to in years. I just think that type of kindness is beautiful and rare in this world. It's something that should be cherished and not taken for granted.
The whole point of this post is to say that kindness is so underrated. I can't remember the last time someone actually did something nice for me unexpectedly. Sure, I get compliments, and my friends and I take turns treating each other. But this rare, spontaneous act of kindness from someone who is not a close friend? That's something else. I just felt so blessed and that PSL tasted a million times better, let me tell you.
So next time you're presented with the opportunity to buy someone a coffee or swipe them in the train station, do it. That's the type of kindness that never gets old and that will stick with that person all day. And sometimes even the next week until they write a whole blog post about it, encouraging other strangers to do the same.
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