Melanie Day 3

Day 3: Said “goodnight” to a troubled peer.

Said “goodnight” to a troubled peer, February 5, 2010.

I’m an extremely introverted person, so I deeply empathize with people who have trouble making friends. It hurts when you’re having a bad day and have no one to talk about it too; I’ve definitely been there. But it helps when there’s one person who, even if you can’t tell him/her all of your secrets and troubles, at least cares about what happens to you and hopes you are okay.

Event: A new girl who transferred into one of my classes a couple weeks ago (the class is so large that we’re separated into two sections; we weren’t in the same section) had an emotional breakdown during class that afternoon. She was waiting outside the teacher’s office to talk about her future in that class, alone, when everyone else was being let out for the day. As I passed by where she was sitting, I said, “See you later, hon!”

Reactions: I was almost out the door when she called to me. “Oh, sorry!” she said. “I got confused and thought that you were talking to me.”

“I was talking to you,” I replied, walking closer to her.

“…oh! Wow, thanks…Why did you say that to me? You don’t know me.”

“Well, I said it because it was a nice thing to say.” After hearing what had happened to her in class, I wasn’t even thinking about Project Nice when the event occurred. I was just focused on cheering her up.

The girl immediately started looking like she felt better. She was smiling, at least. But she was surprised that a classmate would talk to her and wish her well. That was a little painful for me to learn: no matter how nice you are to someone or how much you care about them, he/she may never realize it.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Cost: $0.
Effort: No more than I would have expended walking out of class.

Time: Less than a minute.

Post script: About a week later, the girl transferred into my section of the class. We’ve gotten to know each other a little better and are now somewhat good friends. If friendship isn’t what Project Nice is for, than I don’t know what is.

ERINN'S COMMENT-- This one made me choke up. It's beautiful. I'm so glad Project Nice could make an impact on your life like this.