Pay It Forward
When I was in elementary school, my form teacher would occasionally treat us to ice cream, other sweets, and drinks. It was not something organized by our school, let alone funded by it. She would buy us treats from her modest salary to make us happier and more motivated to come to school and learn. She became one of my role models in life!
13th of June 2024 – Our group is having its last class together. Written exams and oral assessments are coming up, and the first year of college is almost over. Starting from the second year, the groups will be mixed, and nobody knows who will be colleagues with whom. Our last day together must be special.
One day before, during a rainy afternoon in Leeuwarden, I realized that our collaboration as a class was almost over. So I ran to school, asked the nice ladies at the reception to book the big auditorium for us, and started preparing a surprise party. I bought sweets, snacks, drinks, glasses, and napkins, packed them in a bag, and headed back to school to put everything in place. It was not my first time doing this, and it will certainly not be the last either.
As a college student, the first time I organized a surprise celebration was last October, when one of my then-new colleagues was turning 18. In European culture, turning 18 is an important milestone, something we like to celebrate with our families. However, he was not at home with his loved ones; he was stuck with us, strangers from around the world, people he had not yet gotten a chance to get to know. So, I bought him a cake and played the "Happy Birthday" song on the guitar during one of our classes. He did not expect it and was very happy.
It’s these moments that will stay with us through the years, comforting us when things are not as nice as we would like them to be.
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In high school, there was a 10th-grade student who was very unhappy with his life. His parents were strict, girls were not interested in him, and he was also struggling with school. He played drums, and his biggest passion was skydiving. I had never talked to him before, and nobody was aware of his struggles.
One day, I received a call from one of my colleagues saying that this young man had jokingly mentioned he was planning to take his life. She was rightly concerned that he might actually do it. As soon as I found out, I tried to get to know him, understand his emotions, and stop him from doing something horrible. Once he started talking to me, I realized that he was indeed special. He was so selfless and kind, always doing his best to help and please everyone around him. After we became friends, I learned that his parents were taking better care of his younger siblings than of him, leaving their oldest son to deal with life on his own. This upset me very much and made me want to make this boy as happy as he could be.
On his birthday, I bought a small cake and some boxes of chocolate and surprised him during one of his classes. All his classmates stood up, sang "Happy Birthday," and made him feel cherished for the first time. Everything was so unexpected that he even asked me, "Is this cake for me?" I said, "Yes," and he began tearing up.
He texted me the other day, and I was happy to hear from him. He is currently learning how to deal with his emotions and experiences while preparing for the final exam and practising his much-loved skydiving.
The most important thing I've learned in the past couple of years is that we're all fighting our own battles. Some do so openly, while others wrestle with their struggles in the intimacy of their souls. Behind someone's smile lies a mystery; it may radiate genuine joy, or it might hide profound sorrow. We should all keep in mind that paying it forward is what will make the world a better place.
If only we cared more about one another, our lives would be much happier, and big problems would solve themselves.
