Acts of Kindness

In a place as transactional as a bus terminal, most people treat each other like obstacles. However, today I witnessed a small "lyric" moment that felt like it belonged in a different kind of story. An elderly woman was struggling with a heavy suitcase that had a broken wheel. She was dragging it toward the gate, the plastic bottom scraping against the floor with a sound like a heavy sigh.

A teenager, who had been completely buried in his "digital vault" with massive headphones, looked up. Without saying a word, he stood up, took the handle from her, and carried the bag all the way to the bus steps. It was a moment of pure "showing" rather than "telling" (Matthews 114). There was no big conversation, just a nod and a small, tired smile from the woman.

Anne Lamott says that we should look for the "scraps" of grace in our daily lives (Lamott 6). In this "grey space" between a crowded terminal and a long ride home, that five-second interaction felt like a significant shift in the atmosphere. It broke the "individual isolation" I’ve been observing all week. For a second, the terminal wasn't just a place of transit; it was a place of community.

Works Cited

D’Agata, John. "We Might as Well Call it the Lyric Essay." ENG 211: Introduction to Creative Writing, 2025, pp. 129-132.

Lamott, Anne. "12 Truths I Learned from Life and Writing." TED, Apr. 2017, www.ted.com/talks/anne_lamott_12_truths_i_learned_from_life_and_writing.

Matthews, Araminta Star. "Introduction to Writing Creative Nonfiction: Hint—It’s Not What You Think." ENG 211: Introduction to Creative Writing, 2025, pp. 112-118.