I was nine years old when I ran off the bus with more speed than I ever had before. I made it down the street to my house in record time. I threw all my belongings on the floor, ran to the family computer, logged in, and went to YouTube. Little did I know that a domino effect was about to happen.
The 4th grade was rough for me. I had just transferred schools and ended up at a small Catholic school where everyone already had their own friend groups and were not open for new members. I took the bus home each day and was amazed by the cool 8th graders who sat in the back. They all had Vera Bradley tote bags and wore mascara. I desperately needed their approval, I wanted nothing more than to be in their group. I thought that although I may have no friends in my grade, maybe I can infiltrate into the “cool” girls group.
One day, I mustered up the courage and sat towards the back of the bus. I was close enough to them that if I turned around, I would be right in front of them. I sat quietly hoping one of them would speak to me. I stared out the window in silence counting how many bus stops we passed. I told myself that at the fourth bus stop, I would turn around and speak to them.
The fourth stop came, and I did turn around. I knelt on my seat and poked my head up. One of the girls, Emily, was behind me. She was scrolling through her Instagram feed on her iPod touch. Since I was kneeling, I was able to see her screen. I noticed a woman in red lipstick wearing a flower crown. I was in awe. I asked Emily who that was, to which she quickly responded with an eye roll and a scoff. She finally answered me and asked, “You know who Lana Del Rey is?” I shook my head no. She took out her pink glitter notebook, tore out a piece of paper, and then reached back in her bag to grab a gel pen. She wrote down four words on that piece of paper. She folded it up, handed it to me, and told me to look up what she wrote when I got home. I could not hold back my smile. I was ecstatic that she chose to not only talk to me but also wrote me a note.
My bus stop finally approached. I stood up and ran to the front of the bus before it even stopped moving. I ran home with all the speed in my body and ended up in front of my computer. I unfolded the paper she gave me, which said ‘Ride – Lana Del Rey.’ I typed it into YouTube and clicked the first video that popped up.
The video started with a monologue and then showed beautiful visuals as Lana Del Rey’s song played. I was immediately hooked. I watched it every day and eventually memorized the whole ten-minute monologue. This video became my bible.
Lana Del Rey states in the monologue, “My motto is the same as ever: ‘I believe in the kindness of strangers.’” This became my motto, too. I took this with me everywhere. The world is such a dark place, but with the kindness shown by passing strangers the light in the world begins to shine through.
I believe in the kindness of strangers when the old woman next to me at the bus stop turns to me and complains about the weather as we wait for the bus when I see my neighbors put out a bowl of candy for Halloween for the whole month of October when the man in the elevator compliments my San Francisco 49ers T-shirt which I quickly have to tell him the only reason why I bought it was because ‘SF’are my initials.
I may never have been able to fit in with the cool girls who sat in the back of the bus, but that one indifferent suggestion gave me a motto that I have held close to my heart throughout my life.