The Importance of Being Generous

One lesson that has been instilled in me by my parents is the importance of being generous. All throughout my life, my parents have always been generous with whatever resources they had, even when what they had was very little. I can remember numerous times when my extended family would go out to dinner and the check would never arrive because my mom would slyly pay the bill without anyone noticing. Being their daughter, I have taken on those same beliefs and I try to be generous in whatever way I can.

But this belief of mine was tested recently when I began attending a big university. In one of my classes, several different people have been approaching me about needing my notes from lecture. In the beginning, I really did not mind, but after the seventh person came to me asking for my notes, I started to wonder if I was being taken advantage of. I did not know any of these other students, but they seemed to notice that I came to class regularly since I seemed to be the only person that they chose to come to for notes. I could have refused to help these people, but I just do not have it in me to refuse to help someone, regardless of whether or not they were really sick and could not attend lecture.

And then it happened. I decided to eat at one of the student dining halls, so I went in, ordered my food, and went to the cashier to pay. To my utter embarrassment, I had not noticed that the dining hall did not take ATM cards, and since I never seem to carry cash, I was in a bind. To make matters worse, the nearest ATM machine was a ten minute walk away. I stood there feeling like a total jerk, furious with myself for not listening to my instincts when it told me to stop by the ATM this morning. The cashier lady asked me if I had any friends that could help me out, and I answered her honestly, stating that I didn't really know anyone on campus. I quickly moved out of the way to let someone else go ahead of me, wondering what in the world was I going to do?

That person who I let go ahead of me was the good Samaritan that saved me from this embarrassing situation. He kindly paid for my breakfast, no questions asked. I couldn't believe it. That person could have easily just paid for his food and walked away, but he chose to help me even though he had never met me before. The cashier was also touched by the gesture and we all went our separate ways feeling a little better about the world.

There are many lessons that one can take from this. One lesson is that we must, as human beings, be generous towards one another. Even with the little things that we can do, the world can be a much better place. Another lesson is to treat others how you would like to be treated because what goes around comes around. So why not send some goodness around to others? It will definitely come back to you one day.