I was walking down the streets of Jerusalem, a group of people next to me, trying to avoid eye contact with passing strangers, when our group leader came up to us. He stopped us in our tracks and asked why we weren’t handing out the candy. I looked down at the multitude of toffee on a stick with a smiley face note attached to it, and then back up to the storefronts and the people trying to get from one destination to another. “People don’t want American kids handing them candy when they’re just trying to walk”, my friend said, voicing all of our thoughts. “You don’t even have to talk, just hand them the candy and smile, they might appreciate it more than you might think”, the group leader went on to explain. We all took a deep breath and continued our hike down the road. We tried to hand out the candy, and some people took it, which lifted up our spirits, but some were less friendly. It was hard to keep going when people were looking at us like we were criminals, and we were being shunned by strangers strolling across the street. After 20 minutes of repeating the little Hebrew that we did know to unwilling pedestrians, my friend asked an older woman if she wanted one, and she grabbed the candy and started talking to her. My whole group gathered around as she started talking about her life and asked us questions about our trip, and how we were enjoying it so far. We talked to her for a few minutes before she handed my friend the candy back and said, “Thank you for the candy, but give it to someone who could really use some kindness today”. We walked away, heading back to the meeting spot, steering through the current of people, but also stopping to hand them the remainder of the candy, and exchanging smiles.

I’d never been the most friendly person, partially because I always assume that people would rather be left alone than talked to, or even smiled at. After handing out candy and sweet notes to people who live in a different continent than me, I realized that sometimes, a little bit of kindness, even from a stranger, can really make someone’s day. I used to see people on the street and not be able to imagine that they had a whole life, with family, and challenges, just like me, but now, it’s easier to recognize that the world doesn’t revolve around me and what I’m comfortable with. I think that if people just took a second out of their day to step out of their comfort zone and say hello to a stranger on the street, people would have more empathy for others, and want to make them happier.

Whenever in the future, I feel like keeping to myself, I’m going to remember when some random pedestrian stopped on her journey to wherever she was going and took time out of her day to talk to a random group of foreign kids. She taught us that showing strangers a little bit of kindness wasn’t going to kill us, and unintentionally  inspired us to be more compassionate people. Now, as I walk through my own town, instead of keeping my head down, I say hello to the people who have been walking down the same streets as me for my entire life.