Act of Random Kindness

Right now I teach at an elementary school in North Eastern Seoul, and today was a tough day.  I had five classes today, and one of them was the worst class in the school.  Every single teacher complains about this class.  But it came and went, and my other classes were better.  Still at the end of the day, I was feeling kind of down.  In another post, I'll tell you all about my school.

I went to the local E-Mart (It's like Walmart in America) and had some dinner.  Afterward, when I was walking home, I spotted a young woman in her early 20's talking to what looked like some of her friends.  I couldn't hear her from far away, but she looked very upset judging by the way she was shaking her hand in front of her.  For some reason, I felt I wanted to know what was going on here.  I wanted to hear what the problem was and I felt the need to empathize.  Human beings are like that sometimes.  We help each other out.

So I approached the group and said to the girl, "Oh boy, you look very upset."  It caught the whole group off guard, and the girl (who spoke pretty good English) confirmed, and said that she was very upset.  To which, I said, "Well, what happned?"  This gave her and her friends another pause.  Clearly they hesitated talking about their affairs to a total stranger.  So then I said,

"Look, I'm a total stranger.  I don't know you, you don't know me, and we'll probably never see each other again.  But if you tell me, it might make you feel better."

So she took a chance and told me what was up.  She was trying to sell advertising to an upscale restaurant near my home, and the proprieter flat out rejected her offer.  With tears in her eyes, she said, "The man treated me like I was some begger."  I could see how hurt the girl was. 

Rejection.  Well I sure know a lot about that.

So I told her about how I used to write freelance for a magazine.  But before that, I got rejection after rejection after rejection.  The point being, I have felt what she is feeling, and that she is not alone.  I then told her that the man wasn't rejecting "her" personally.  How could he?  He doesn't even know her!  He only rejected her offer, not her person.

So I told her this, and that seemed to make her feel better.  I didn't want her phone number, and I didn't have some ulterior motive.  I just wanted to help her. 

Just an act of random kindness.

So I said my goodbyes, and said that I hope she feels better soon.  She thanked me for my kind words, and I was on my way.