I was at work at my college computing site tonight, and a girl a couple years older than me came in and asked for some help with the scanners. She told me she wanted to scan some pages in a book to a multi-page .pdf document, which is pretty advanced for most of the users there, so I was impressed right off the bat.
Anyway, we got to talking while I was helping her scan her book, and it turns out she's from the same area I spent most of my life in (Northeast Ohio, southeast Cuyahoga County). The girl was super-nice through the whole process (I was helping her for about 45 minutes) and was very friendly and conversational. I asked her what the book she was scanning was about, as it had an interesting title ("From Me to We").
She said it was a self-help type book, sort of like Chicken Soup for the _______ Soul, except that this one had some really well-known people in it (Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Oprah Winfrey, etc.). So anyway, she mentioned that she was really excited because she actually has her own chapter in the book, and that's what she was scanning to send to her friends.
In the process of helping her out, I got around to asking her why she was in the book. She said she'd done a ton of work for the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation and the editor of the book took notice and asked her to write a chapter. And just then, I caught a glance of the first paragraph of her chapter on the screen, and I read that her mom died from complications with breast cancer when this girl was 10 years old.
But the girl I was helping couldn't have possibly lost her mother at such a young age; she was friendly, bright, and so...upbeat. I honestly don't know how anyone could act so agreeably after having lost a parent at such a young age. I know I wouldn't be able to.
I guess that's what impressed me so much. I think this girl probably dumped all her sadness and rage into working for the Foundation, and just didn't focus on her mother's death except to work toward helping others from suffering the same sadness. I didn't feel sad for her, or pity, nor did I feel a need to apologize or offer my sympathy for her mother's death. It seemed as though she had all the support she needed, just by living.
I still don't know her name, but I'll hopefully see her again at the computing site. Even if I don't though, I hope she one day finds out how much of a positive impact she has on people just by doing what she's doing.
Anyway, we got to talking while I was helping her scan her book, and it turns out she's from the same area I spent most of my life in (Northeast Ohio, southeast Cuyahoga County). The girl was super-nice through the whole process (I was helping her for about 45 minutes) and was very friendly and conversational. I asked her what the book she was scanning was about, as it had an interesting title ("From Me to We").
She said it was a self-help type book, sort of like Chicken Soup for the _______ Soul, except that this one had some really well-known people in it (Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Oprah Winfrey, etc.). So anyway, she mentioned that she was really excited because she actually has her own chapter in the book, and that's what she was scanning to send to her friends.
In the process of helping her out, I got around to asking her why she was in the book. She said she'd done a ton of work for the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation and the editor of the book took notice and asked her to write a chapter. And just then, I caught a glance of the first paragraph of her chapter on the screen, and I read that her mom died from complications with breast cancer when this girl was 10 years old.
But the girl I was helping couldn't have possibly lost her mother at such a young age; she was friendly, bright, and so...upbeat. I honestly don't know how anyone could act so agreeably after having lost a parent at such a young age. I know I wouldn't be able to.
I guess that's what impressed me so much. I think this girl probably dumped all her sadness and rage into working for the Foundation, and just didn't focus on her mother's death except to work toward helping others from suffering the same sadness. I didn't feel sad for her, or pity, nor did I feel a need to apologize or offer my sympathy for her mother's death. It seemed as though she had all the support she needed, just by living.
I still don't know her name, but I'll hopefully see her again at the computing site. Even if I don't though, I hope she one day finds out how much of a positive impact she has on people just by doing what she's doing.
