I have volunteered the last four years for a charity called, “The Young Storytellers.” It’s a program where students are paired with mentors to write a screen play. Last year I was paired with a special needs kid, we’ll call him Max.   He came in every session with Tania, who was on crutches. Each session I would watch Max walk in with Tania always very aware of her. Max would walk behind her, he would help her sit in her chair carefully placing her crutches to the side.  He made sure she was ok before ever taking care of himself. By the fourth session I said, “It seems like you and Tania are good friends.”

He told me, “She had a really bad seizure in front of the class about a month ago. It was really scary and I’ve been having a lot of nightmares about it. So now I look out for her. “

“How do you look out for her?” I replied.

“I watch her when she sits, because if she isn’t paying attention I worry she’ll lose her balance. Also she can’t play on the playground anymore, so I bring Uno Cards to school so she doesn’t feel left out.”  

I said, “Max you’re a really good friend.”

He simply replied, “No, that’s just what we do, we look out for each other.”

What Max showed me is it’s not what we say, its what we do. So now… Now we do good. WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER. We choose kindness, and compassion. We notice those that are being picked on and we stand up. We show endless courage and endless love.

See Max wasn’t popular. In fact, I think he might have been the least cool kid in the class. But to me he was a Hero. He was everything I love about humanity. My heart aches this week. But I refuse to lose hope, I REFUSE TO LOSE HOPE, because I know a little kid named Max who brings Uno cards to recess so his friend doesn’t feel left out!!

Let this terrible loss challenge us to be the best versions of ourselves. To truly show that love really does trump hate.