"You Can Help"

How often do you help a stranger out? Most of us are too busy to be engrossed in some stranger's business. But I believe that helping other people can be easy.

You don't need to do anything grandiose to help someone; I think the minimum to help them is stepping aside if they're passing through. Helping extends to social media, where you can make someone's day better by getting them to laugh at the things you post. Sometimes, they could get so distracted from those posts that they forget about their troubles. Two of my friends and I managed to do that on Twitter.

In September, a stranger found me randomly from seeing my comments on several posts. At the time, I was involved in a big shenanigan with my friends, and the stranger got curious about said shenanigan, then later, involved in it. We had a lot of fun.

In early October, he sent us a message. He wanted to thank us for changing his life without meaning to. That didn't make sense, but he explained that before he met us he was having a hard time with his depression. He was all alone, on the verge of suicide, and reduced to screaming at hallucinations. When he found us, he got so distracted with our jokes that he managed to get a hold of himself, and we didn't know we made that possible.

I was shocked when I read that. Not ever have I helped someone in such a significant way, least of all by posting image macros on the internet. That experience inspired my belief in helping, and I know there will be a change in what I do when I see someone struggling with their things, or if a flurry of papers fall out of their folder. I won't stand by and stare; I'll act.