Good Deeds, Tough Year

2020 started off normally for me, I would say. I made my resolutions like I usually do and went about my life like I normally did. Nothing could've warned me about what was about to come, and if someone had tried, I would've laughed in their face.

March came along, and with it the beginnings of a pandemic. In April, I moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Centreville, Nova Scotia to live with my boyfriend. He stopped working a month, or two after I moved in, but I continued because I work at the IWK Health Center. I was driving back and forth every day I worked and it was tough. Like many other people, I was scared and worried when cases got worse. Everything seemed so bad and how could people come together and help each other out? I wanted so bad to see any positives that I could and you won't believe what I found!

My mother-in-law went out of her way to help my boyfriend and I celebrate our quarantined birthdays giving us cakes. Mutiple McDonald's and Starbucks locations gave out free coffee's for Healthcare workers, and a place in downtown Halifax called Backoos Korean To Go Food gave out free plates of food to healthcare workers as well. Multiple people on my facebook offered to get groceries for seniors or anyone who could not go out and get any. Whole communities came together to help each other out.

Big things happened too, people all around the world came together to fight against violence and racial injustice, Crayola released new inclusive skin-tone crayons and Scotland became the first country to make period products free.

One act of kindness will always stick with me when I remember 2020. I was grocery shopping in Superstore one evening and I was on a tight budget. I like to eat healthy, but it can be expensive. I got my items and took the cart through the line up to checkout.

I got sent to a nice lady at the till, and we talked as she scanned my items. She was pleasant to talk to and talking to her alone put a smile on my face. I watched the price as she checked out items, and I had passed my limit. Embarassed, I hesitantly asked the lady to start taking of items to lower the price. The lady instead said " I took $15 off your total, so you don't have to take off all those groceries" and shocked, I said, "Oh, you don't have to do that!" The lady said " We have a program through Superstore to help people out, and I can see you are trying to eat healthy, I've been there too" I thanked her over and over, with tears in my eyes. I paid and walked out to my car, carrying my groceries. I was so in shock and so happy, I cried. When I got home, I told my boyfriend all about it.

2020 was a tough year for all of us, but I still continue to see the positive that happened in that year too. My hope is that 2021 will be a better year. I hope more people buy local, spend more time with their families and continue to give.

The lady at the Superstore has inspired me to give back as well and I hope she inspires you too! Pay for a strangers coffee, adopt an animal, lift your co-workers sprits up, do anything to make someones day, it will make your day too!