If you only read one blog post, read this one.
Yesterday, while at Pitt's Homecoming Game, I heard the story of Alyssa Josephine O'Neill. She was an 18 year old who lost her battle with epilepsy to a terrible seizure. One of the last things she asked her parents for was a pumpkin latte; unfortunately, she died before she could get it.
Days after her death, her brother and sister went to the Starbucks in Erie and paid for 40 coffees for complete strangers. Their only request was that #ajo be put on the cup in honor of their sister's memory. Slowly, #ajo has been making its way around the country and the world. People are randomly picking up the tabs for strangers.
I went into Starbucks today, and I donated $20 in coffee to the next few customers with the only caveat being that I wanted #ajo written on the cups. As I waited for my coffee, I could hear the cashier explaining to people that their coffee was paid for already by a stranger. A random act of kindness. The customers I saw hear the news (I tried to slip out quickly) kept asking why, and the poor cashier had to keep explaining to them that there was no catch. The coffee was free.
Before I could get out of the store, the old woman directly behind me asked if I was close friends with the girl who had passed away. I am as much a stranger to Alyssa and her family as I am to the people at Starbucks.
It struck me very quickly that we live in a world where people are less shocked by acts of violence than something as small as receiving a free cup of coffee. It's somewhat of a terrifying notion. I don't want to live in a world where random acts of kindness are such a rarity that people question if there is a catch.
Let me be clear. I'm not the best person in the world. If you really wanted me to, I could list all of my bad qualities in alphabetical order. I'm not a martyr. I'm not a saint. I am also not asking to be commended on my actions.
I am asking that you consider paying it forward. Buy the cup of coffee for the stranger behind you. Send someone a card randomly. Leave a gift card for a family who has toys on layaway. Donate money to a cause. Buy a new toy for Children's Hospital. Leave a gift card at a bookstore. Do something. Do anything.
At the end of the day, we all share this world. It shouldn't take the death of a young woman to remind us to treat others with kindness. Do it for Alyssa Josephine O'Neill. Do it for strangers. Do it for yourself and your family.
Do it because a little extra kindness in the world is never a bad thing.
Days after her death, her brother and sister went to the Starbucks in Erie and paid for 40 coffees for complete strangers. Their only request was that #ajo be put on the cup in honor of their sister's memory. Slowly, #ajo has been making its way around the country and the world. People are randomly picking up the tabs for strangers.
I went into Starbucks today, and I donated $20 in coffee to the next few customers with the only caveat being that I wanted #ajo written on the cups. As I waited for my coffee, I could hear the cashier explaining to people that their coffee was paid for already by a stranger. A random act of kindness. The customers I saw hear the news (I tried to slip out quickly) kept asking why, and the poor cashier had to keep explaining to them that there was no catch. The coffee was free.
Before I could get out of the store, the old woman directly behind me asked if I was close friends with the girl who had passed away. I am as much a stranger to Alyssa and her family as I am to the people at Starbucks.
It struck me very quickly that we live in a world where people are less shocked by acts of violence than something as small as receiving a free cup of coffee. It's somewhat of a terrifying notion. I don't want to live in a world where random acts of kindness are such a rarity that people question if there is a catch.
Let me be clear. I'm not the best person in the world. If you really wanted me to, I could list all of my bad qualities in alphabetical order. I'm not a martyr. I'm not a saint. I am also not asking to be commended on my actions.
I am asking that you consider paying it forward. Buy the cup of coffee for the stranger behind you. Send someone a card randomly. Leave a gift card for a family who has toys on layaway. Donate money to a cause. Buy a new toy for Children's Hospital. Leave a gift card at a bookstore. Do something. Do anything.
At the end of the day, we all share this world. It shouldn't take the death of a young woman to remind us to treat others with kindness. Do it for Alyssa Josephine O'Neill. Do it for strangers. Do it for yourself and your family.
Do it because a little extra kindness in the world is never a bad thing.
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