"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about."
I read this quote last week, didn't think much about it at first, but for some reason, it kept popping up in my head. I thought to myself, sure, everyone's going through something, but they've got it handled I'm sure. I continued on with my day, but every once in a while, I'd say hi to a previous classmate, or a faculty member who I've had to stop into their office once or twice, or a girl who was a friend of a friend, and every time that quote would pop into my head again and I'd think to myself, I wonder what their "battle" is.
I'm a quotes person. I'd say over half of the pictures I have saved on my phone are screenshots I have of quotes that have caught my eye on Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, or whatever social media happens to have something clever written on it. So often I'll see a quote and think to myself, wow, that's exactly how I feel or that makes so much sense, why did nobody tell me that before? When I couldn't get this quote out of my head, I screenshot it and made it the background on my phone, something I think most cliche college girls have done at one point in their lives.
Once I had this quote on the screen of my phone, I thought of it constantly. I go to a small Christian University, so I've been told time after time while showing incoming students around campus that it seems as if I know everyone, but in reality, I probably only know their name and one random fact that I happened to hear, but nothing real. Nothing deep. I have no clue what is really hurting them or what they are struggling with. But there's something, and knowing that there's something gives me such a different perspective on every person I interact with.
I've almost made it into a game. Every time I catch myself thinking that someone was rude to me or that they look like they're having an awful day, I think to myself some of the possible things they might be struggling with. Maybe they've just failed a test, or lost a job, or gotten in a fight with their boyfriend, or found out they can't pay for school next year, or they dropped their phone and cracked their screen that morning; whatever it is, I may never know. There is one thing I can do, and that is to be kind. It's amazing how far a smile or a simple compliment can go. I can think of may times where I have had a rough day and someone went out of their way to say something kind, and that one thing could turn around my entire day.
I wish I could say that the people I see every day aren't hurting, but they are, and the worst thing I can do is add to that struggle. Knowing that everyone has some battle they are fighting that I don't know about, helps me to give each person I come in contact with grace and love, and that can make all the difference.