A Simple Act of Kindness

By Bridget Clark, SBA Credit Manager, Core Bank
It was a cold dark night, and I was driving like a crazy woman to get my nervous 9 year old to his first ever wrestling practice. (I wasn’t sure if he was nervous because of my driving or his first practice, but that is for a later blog.) We got to the parking lot of the massive high school and noticed that there were only a few cars in the lot, and all of the lights in the school were off.
I checked my email on my phone to ensure I had the right date, time and place. Everything was correct.
We got out of the car and went to the main entrance to the school. It was locked tight. We then checked every door in the front of the high school, but they were all locked. At the end of the parking lot, a lone high school student was waiting patiently for his ride to show up. He watched us try several doors and then walked over to us and asked us if we needed help.

I was awestruck as this kind teenager got us into the building. I later learned that the side door to the school is the only door open after hours. He personally guided us through the winding maze of hallways to the Wrestling Gym. I thanked him profusely for getting us to the right place. He told us to have a great evening and left us. I never even got his name.
Teenagers tend to get a bad reputation for being self-absorbed and unwilling to help people. This particular student could have easily ignored us and played on his phone. Instead, he went out of his way to help a stranger, a fellow human being.  He was kind.
In this day and age, with so much hate and divisiveness in this country and in the world, one small act of kindness can truly make a difference. I hope that anyone who reads this blog may be inspired to do one simple act of kindness to help out a fellow human being, because people truly do appreciate it.
The teenager’s simple act of kindness on that cold dark night helped my son get to his first ever wrestling practice. He had a blast and met a new friend. And it reminded me that there are still a lot of kind people in the world.