SUENING: HELPER'S HIGH

            Because the head leader of Caldwell Soup Kitchen had to make an emergency flight across seas, there was a change of plans. We were no longer going to volunteer at that service site. Nonetheless, we still participated in an act of service. Today, we were given the freedom to wander across the big city of New York with one task in mind: complete a random act of kindness. 

            I started the day unsure of what my random act of kindness would be. I started google-ing and youtube-ing other acts of kindness for inspiration, but nothing really struck me. I thought maybe I would give out flowers or hold the line for someone. Maybe I would buy someone food. I wanted to do something different, but something that I knew would really be appreciated. By mid-day, I was still unsure of what to do. I ordered a tall green tea from Starbucks like I always do and as I reached for a straw I realized that there was only one straw left. I told the barista that he had run out of straws but he said there's more where the condiments were. Ding-ding-ding! A bulb went off in my head. I was going to transfer the straws from the condiment section to the straws at the counter. While it sounded like an awesome idea being that it was overwhelmingly busy, it also sounded like a foolish and weird idea. I walked around a bit and thought it over. I don't know what pushed me to do it, but I came back. This time, being that it was my second time around and there was already Starbucks in my hand, I felt even more foolish. I hesitated a few more times before I actually took the handful of straws and transferred it to the counter. When I did the transfer, a lady working there noticed and her face lit up as she thanked me. Automatically, I experienced this type of high that others have described to me as "helper's high." Something inside me felt great and left me wanting to do more. I told Julie, my friend who was with me at the time, that we needed to go to the next café ASAP and see if they needed any straws that needed to be replaced. Though we never actually visited the next café nor checked out their straw situation, I learned that no matter how foolish of minuscule a deed seems, it is still a deed and someone still benefits. 

SUNDAY, 15 MARCH 2015 || SUENING, BARBARA 19