Xiuting Yu
Sep 2, 2018 · 2 min read

Some random moment in life…

:-) Smile, it could change the vibe (prob not the world tho)!

It was a few weeks ago, a usual day when I hopped on the L-substitute bus after my internship (yeee, the tunnel was still under construction). At 6pm, it was another post-work rush hour. I was lucky enough to spot a seat at the very back row of the bus. As I walked toward the seat, the guy in his early 40’s smiled at me. I felt a little weird at first since people usually display a very stoic face to strangers, but at the same time, had this weird feeling that I actually felt great because someone smiled at me.

Then, a woman in her 40’s dressed in those broken homeless cloths (you get the idea) walked stagnantly pass by us and found a seat at the back. She started rambling to herself and found a seat next to the guy who smiled at me when I boarded the bus. Most people on the bus did not want to sit next to her. But the same guy who gave me the smile started a conversation with her to ask about how she’s been doing. Then the woman stopped rambling to herself and talked about her life and how yesterday was actually her birthday! Soon enough, two other people started to join the conversation and the woman seemed to be a much happier person and started to talk about herself.

It was a memorable moment to me because there has been a lack of acknowledgement to people who are impacted by homelessness and when someone does do that and start a conversation and to truly be a good listener and smile OFC (ugh, forgive my 4 and’s here), it could change how the person feels and the overall vibe.

When I got off to my destination, I smiled back :)

Also, I remembered from the first day of work, I asked my “supervisor” (or whatever title you call him): “ what do you actually look for when you decide whether you want to hire this person?”

He told me, it’s “empathy.”

I’m not sure if empathy and the scene of where this guy talked and listened to the woman impacted by homelessness are two independent events that seemed to connect for everyone. But to me, it’s one of the most warm-hearted scenes that I’ve ever seen. He really showed me how to be accepting and to truly acknowledge other people in retrospective of who they seemed to be. You never know.. maybe it could make the person feel better, lead to an interesting conversation and learn more about a person on top of who they “appeared” to be :-)