Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To: The tall lady cashier at Disneyland

I went to Disneyland not too long ago with my best friend. It was a trip we planned for years and finally my parents had given me their blessing to go with her. 

My best friend and I had the time of our lives! We rode every ride within eyesight and had the opportunity to go to both parks. 

It was late and shops were closing. The two of us rushed into an available store to buy souvenirs. Whenever I go out on a trip by myself I always bring a little gift for each member in my immediate family. I'm not rich by any means but my parents had given me a good amount of cash considering this was Disneyland. I may have spent a good sum of money but I had no regrets.

The most notable encounter I had at that remaining shop was a kind tall dark skinned young woman manning the cashier counter. My anxiety may not be as severe as some of the people I've met, but I was nonetheless frazzled trying to dig through my wallet to find the appropriate cash.   

I was panicking for no reason and ended up settling for a large bill to pay for everything. I was then hit with the idea that some stores don't allow big bills to prevent fraud. 

I tried to play it off and use humor to distract me from the fact that there was a real possibility that she would reject my money and I would have left empty handed, "you wouldn't happen to have change for this~?" I questioned while awkwardly holding up the money. 

All nervousness disappeared when she played along with a kind smile, "Well of course I can, no trouble at all!"

It was simple a smile and a gesture of goodwill and that's all it really took for me to feel at ease while waiting for her to finish the transaction. 

~

You may be paid to play along and to greet costumers with a happy face, but I thank you all the same. May the good you put into the world return to you tenfold. 

Thank you random cashier at Disneyland! You made my day even brighter and even now I can't help but smile at the encounter!

Chapter Text

To: The man at KFC who opened the door

More of a brief encounter, but one that stuck with me anyways. 

I don’t remember why I was at KFC other than the fact that I was sent out to order food for my family who were waiting at home. 

Drive thrus are good, but this time around my dad was driving his truck and his truck doesn’t always fit into the tight turns in the drive thrus, so my dad and I went to order inside the place. 

Before we stepped foot into the KFC a middle aged man promptly opened the door as he was leaving and held it open for the two of us, even though he was carrying a few bags of food. 

He had a huge smile and wished for us to have a good day. There are a lot of people who open the door on their way out. It’s kinda an unspoken social rule, but he was happy about something and honestly his smile was pretty contagious. 

I ended up smiling and stayed as such for the entire time we were there. 

My dad told me, “It’s Chinese New Yea, he’s probably trying to gather good karma”. I had no idea if my dad genuinely believed that man was just trying to get goodness points, or if my dad was trying to teach me something about how good karma works. 

Now I’m no expert on karma or understand how it actually works, but at this point he made my day and that was all that matters. 

~

Whether you smiled for the sake of smiling or truly tried to give the world a little positivity, thank you kind stranger who opened the door! Your smile was contagious and even now I think back on how happy you looked.

May the good you do for other people be returned to you tenfold.

Chapter Text

My high school Grad Nite also happened at Disneyland or more specifically California Adventures.

I don’t go to Disneyland all the time! This was just a special year so I was able to go twice, I haven’t been to the theme park in over six years, and after suffering for so long in school I thought I deserved the double trips!

Anyways…

It was two days before the actual date and I got a message from someone with a list of the rules for contraband for Disneyland, usual stuff, don’t bring weapons or dangerous keychains, common sense guidelines.

However, the list also stated water and food of any kind were pretty much illegal and would be confiscated onsite!?

The original park rules state that all of these are very acceptable items as long as they don’t need to be heated or kept frozen, but Grad Nite has very different rules apparently?!

I had already bought a ton of snacks for the trip. I have a problem with lack of access to food or water and was not going to pay five dollars for a drink. That doesn’t even account for the fact that I take medicines that need to be taken with food so I was understandably panicked.

I messaged the coordinator promptly and was surprised when he answered very quickly.

>as long as the usual rules say you can bring them go for it

Again I messaged with quotes from both the official rules and the Grad Nite guidelines and pointed out the discrepancies.

>no, it’s fine. As long as water bottles are sealed and snacks haven’t opened its all good

I took a long sigh of relief and left it at that for the rest of the time before the trip.

I had two clear factory-sealed water bottles and a whole ton of snacks, fruit strips, granola bars, beef jerky for protein and had packed all the bottles with my medicines. I was practically a walking convenience store and pharmacy as my friends liked to call me.

Upon getting on the bus the chaperones were very adamant on making sure everyone dumped out all their water and threw away all food according to the rules they were told to enforce.

I tried to let them know the coordinator said it was okay, but they didn’t seem convinced, at this point neither was I.

As we got closer to the baggage check it was clear that the coordinator either was making things up on the spot or genuinely did not read the guidelines.

I panicked and felt pale. I’ve never really had a panic attack in public before so this was about to be a new experience.

My friends were assigned to a different bus and all I could do was stand in line with some volunteer chaperones that I wasn’t familiar with.

I explained to my chaperone the situation of food and medicine as well as the fact that I’m not fit so I need water stat, especially when I’m nervous. They shrugged and told me to just straight up ask the security guards about it.

I wasn’t about to get out of line and confront one of these uniformed guards?!

I waited until it was my turn. The person in front of me had a pack of gum, GUM was confiscated onsite and immediately thrown into the trashcan the security guard had to his side.

I opened my bag and before he had the chance to pick through my food shakily addressed, “I-I was told to ask regardless” he paused and my throat closed but I was able to spit out, “I need f-ood for my medicine, it was checked in with my chaperone if you need to c-onfirm”

He made no movement for a solid minute and I was tempted to just allow him to throw away my entire bag and let the rest of the kids behind me pass.

“I’ll need to call my manager” I was completely panicked that I was making a scene and hoped the other students behind me didn’t absolutely hate my entire existence. My only saving grace was that there were a few schools going at the same time so I most likely would have never seen those kids again.

A lady a little taller than me walked over to inspect my bag, “what kind of medicines do you have?” her voice was calm and non judgemental so it was easier to talk to her than the previous guard.

I listed a few of the medications and my physical ailments and she then asked, “do you have any food allergies?”. I immediately knew it was all over.

Apparently since I didn’t have any food allergies or food sensitivities I was supposed to throw out everything anyways. I’d be able to just buy more food and grab a water once I walked in, no big deal right? Wrong, I didn’t bring a lot of cash and didn’t expect to have needed to spend money on food if I had packed some beforehand.

I was panicking even more when I told her I didn’t have food allergies or sensitivities.

You see I have a very particular fear of food being taken away. It’s purely psychological and I have no idea where it stems from, nothing in my childhood in my opinion would have triggered it, I was never starved or food denied to me. So it was more of an irrational fear of not having food or food being wasted. This was the worst scenario for me.

She took me aside and whispered, “is this all you have? Did you bring money”

I was stunned at the initial question and tried to speak, “I didn’t bring much” I sounded much smaller than I ever have. I’m not shy per say, but for some reason when nervous or talking with adults older than me, my voice raises an octave and I sound like a scared grade schooler.

She took pity on my poor self and said, “don’t flaunt it around, but go ahead”

I almost cried with relief at how kind her decision was!

I thanked her and the original security guard for letting me keep all my snacks and almost threw up. I won’t forget her showing me mercy. For seeing me at a low point of panic and showing empathy most would not have.

The day started off rocky, I was entirely ready for the security check in to completely ruin my day, but her simple act spoke to my heart and I was able to have the best last day of high school I could have dreamed of.

This was a while ago so I doubt she’d remember me regardless, but she helped me to have a day full of fun memories without having to worry about stopping my friend group to buy something to eat.

~

It may have just been your job to enforce guidelines or to ensure customers are happy at the park, but you gave me something I’ll never forget, hope. Hope that there are empathetic people whose actions speak volumes louder than any word could ever measure up to.

I don’t know if I was able to thank you or the other guard enough for what you did for me. The morning was a blur after all. I hope that all your actions rooted in empathy are paid back to you tenfold.

Chapter Text

Back at it again with a story from Disneyland. It was the same day as Grad Nite so I figured I might as well tell it while on the topic. 

Grad Nite doesn’t officially start until 9pm. This is when California Adventures is closed to the public and only open for the private event. This means at 9pm no one is allowed in or out. 

My group of friends and I were at Downtown Disney before everything would be closing up. We wanted to visit that one big shop and find something to eat. 

At the very beginning of getting checked in, every person gets their ticket specifically branded with Grad Nite and a bracelet of a specific color that also confirms you’re attending the event. 

Now it was 8:30 when we started to head back to the park. The employees working the ticket book scanned out tickets and took a picture of our faces, to make sure no one would double up on a single ticket. 

I kept my ticket in my boomer case. You know the flip cases with a wallet and cardholder. My friends may call me the mom friend because I’m prepared, but having your ticket handy, especially right before the park closes is really helpful!

All five of my friends had successfully passed the turnstiles when our last friend got stuck…

She couldn’t find her ticket anywhere!!??!

She stepped out of line and completely flipped her bags inside out. Her purse was thoroughly searched and still the ticket could not be found! I took a picture of mine just in case I lost it, but it seemed that my friend did not, and after that mess of the baggage inspections, who could blame her?

You can’t go into the park without a ticket.

I saw my friend at her lowest point that day. She gave up and it broke my heart to see all the energy and enthusiasm of the day fade from her eyes as all her bags slumped to the ground. Souvenirs spilled out of her colorful shopping bags and she slid down the nearest wall outside the park. 

She brought her knees to her chin and promptly gave up all hope.

Tears blurred her vision as she frantically texted her parents with the news that they’d have to pick her up from the park long before the estimated time. 

I asked the lady manning the turnstiles if there was anything I could do, anything at all.

“You could get your chaperone to reprint her ticket in the front. That’s the only way”

I had a solution! I ran outside the turnstiles and looked at the clock, 8:46. I thought we could make it. I called out to my friend group to message our chaperone and have them start walking, we were going to make it even if under the wire!

But she wouldn’t move. 

I wanted to just pull her up! Get her up, just move, anything, so we could get all the way to the front, “just go without me” she sighed defeated. 

Her tone still makes me shiver to this day. I don’t think I’ve ever met despair so close before till I saw it on her face. 

I pleaded on my knees for her to move, that we had a plan, that I could do something if she gave me the notion that she was ready to try, but she didn’t. 

At that point I was going to wait with her till time ran out. I don’t know what I would have done at 9pm when the gates closed, but my planted feet made the decision to stick with her till the end.

“What seems to be the problem here?” a seasoned gentleman with a snowy beard approached us and the other female ticket attendants. 

The lady from before explained the situation and he looked at the two of us with a pained expression, “she doesn’t have a ticket” he uttered. 

“Yes” I spoke with a new sense of sorrow.

“Does she have the wristband?” hope was quick to resurface upon hearing him ask. 

“Yes!” I shout with much more vigor, “she does!”

I stepped aside from my friend as the older man addressed her quietly without any sense of judgment, “as long as ya have that wristband and don’t leave the park until the busses come ya can walk through” 

Bless his heart, bless his kind heart! It was 8:52 and I was able to re-enter without issue and my friend was able to walk through the opposite gate to get in. 

The day was back on!

I profusely thanked all the attendants and the snowy bearded gentlemen and we were able to have fun once again!

~

You didn’t have to let her through. Though true she had a wristband that authentified the fact that my friend was with the Grad Nite group, your ability to look kindly onto my defeated friend and the kind encouragement you gave her made a lasting memory. 

Thank you, a million times thank you for not cutting our last days together short! Thank you for the kindness you showed to my friend when she really needed something good in her life. 

You may be getting paid to keep smiling bright, but it doesn’t matter to me your reasonings for doing what you did. May all the kind words you speak bring good right back to you tenfold!

Chapter Text

To: The curly hair lady at the mall

I was at the mall with my family recently buying shoes. 

Nothing too interesting, we were in the food court and got something to eat and chatted a bit.

In this food court there is a bungee trampoline thingy. I have no idea what it’s actually called but you get into a harness and are strapped to two poles on either side of you and jump on this really bouncy trampoline. 

I used to beg my mom to go on it when I was younger, but now that I’m older I’m scared to. I have no idea the weight limit or if someone like me would have fun with it anymore. 

This day at the mall though, a woman a little taller than me with curly hair was the bravest of all and got strapped in! She had the time of her life and I couldn’t stop staring at her!

I know it’s rude, but she was having so much fun she couldn’t stop smiling and it made my day!

It’s hard to see a grown adult actually having fun and have the confidence to just go for it. 

Point is her smile really made my day and I’m sure she’s a really fun person, here’s to the unashamed adventurers!

~

I was tired walking around the large mall since I don’t have much energy these days, but your smile was contagious and even now I can picture the big smile and raw joy on your face. 

My the happiness you put into the world continue to circle around you tenfold!

Live life to your fullest and I hope you had fun!

Chapter Text

To: The lovely employee at Torrid

Now I’m sure at this point you’ve got the point that I’m not the most outgoing person. I’d rather stay home than try to go out. This goes for shopping too, I love buying little trinkets or fandom merch, but clothes shopping? Not a chance, I hate doing that with a passion unless it’s by myself.

I’m still under my parents roof and I’ve got no license so I usually end up clothes shopping with my parents. Parents who don’t exactly understand being sensitive about sizes. 

I’m oversharing, but I doubt anyone I know will actually find this.

I’m barely beginning to join the plus size group and I’m not exactly thrilled. Some stores don’t carry my size or a style that I’d feel flattered in, making clothes shopping a bit of a nightmare. 

In the mall near my house there’s a store called Torrid, all I know about the place is that it’s expensive and it carries plus sizes. 

I finally worked up the courage to ask my mom to take me there. I was originally looking for a modest bathing suit and didn’t want to go through the discouragement of trying on fifty bathing suits that I know weren’t my size.

There was a blonde hair employee that helped my sheepish form to a changing room with a smile. I was already embarrassed for having to look for plus sizes, but her smile made me feel at ease. If I went to any other department store in the mall they probably wouldn’t have shown me the same courtesy. 

Low and behold I underestimated my size…again. And was absolutely terrified to go out to find my mom to look for a bigger size. I hate when I have to do that because I’m sure my mom doesn’t appreciate having to shop at a speciality store anyways.

When I peeked outside the changing stall the employee from earlier greeted me and asked if the clothes were to my liking. I hesitantly told her that I had the wrong size, without any judgment she told me she’d look for my mom without needing a prompt. 

I was relieved I wouldn’t have to get out and look for her, and relieved at the soft tone the lady used. 

I ended up finding a really nice and modest two piece that covered everything and was flowy. 10/10

Probably the first and only time I’ve ever felt really satisfied with bathing suit shopping.

I tried on a few more shirts and outfits and found a really pretty pink dress with butterflies on it. I was nervous about wearing so different from my usual attire, but it was something that screamed, me.

I confidently walked out of the stall to see my mom had ditched me to look at other clothes and I was suddenly very vulnerable in socks out in the open with the dress that wasn’t quite my size.

The same blonde lady with all black attire and a red name tag smiled at me and told me I looked really pretty in it.

I don’t go looking for compliments, or at least I try my best not to, but something about a random stranger calling me pretty in a dress I didn’t feel assured in, was an absolute joy. 

 ~

To the kind lady who raised my confidence a tad, thank you.

You are paid to keep customers, to help and assist potential buyers, but the simple act of complimenting me, for making me feel like I fit the clothes I liked, thank you.

The shop itself is expensive, but everytime I go in, I’m delightfully overjoyed by how good it feels to wear clothes that aren’t trying to strangle me.

Thank you to the kind employee at Torrid, I hope you make other customers feel as welcome as you made me feel. 

Chapter Text

To: My new academic advisor

I’ve had lots of bad experiences with school counselors. From my freshman counselor doing everything in his power to intimidate me, to my college advisor who just about laughed in my face for wanting to take certain classes. 

In freshman year I wanted to drop my English Honors course, I was stressed out and I just didn’t feel like my teacher was the kindest to me. I was pulled out of said class to talk with my academic counselor. He was a tall man who when I walked in, crossed one leg over the other and smiled at me. 

I explained my situation, my advice was to “wait until it became a problem” before deciding to make such a drastic change to my schedule. I never did get my class changed, but I also never went to speak with that counselor ever again. 

My other most notably not nice experience was in my first year of college (starting to see a trend here). I took a business introduction class because I was interested in the subject, and it satisfied some sort of personal development requirement. At the end of the year a business advisor lectured my group so we could properly determine which class to take next. 

I’m an engineering major, not even remotely close to business, but I wanted to learn something about personal finances or at least just to get experience is a little bit of everything. I went one on one with the advisor to ask about potential continuations for the course. 

She just about laughed in my face when I told her I wanted to pursue a class about accounting or maybe just another type of beginner course so I could learn the business language. She told me those classes would do me no good as an engineer, “you want to take a business class for fun?” she seemed far too amused at my proposition. It’s safe to say I won’t be seeking any more advice from her. 

Now this letter isn’t just to sulk about my poor experiences, it’s to thank those who give me good ones. 

I ended up transferring to a different college recently and I finally got to meet my new academic advisor. I was understandably nervous. She had a quaint little office with an actual desk to separate us, unlike my previous confrontations, a desk was a nice addition. 

Though my credits were having trouble transferring, she explained to me exactly the steps that were going to be taken to ensure I could register for classes soon. 

The part that really changed my perspective was when I asked her about a few classes I was interested in, those that didn’t quite match with my major, “you want to learn ASL?” she asked looking into the school’s class catalog, “guess it’s a new class this year. I’m happy to look into it for you, I think it’s labeled under disability studies. You don’t exactly need this class, but good on you for wanting to learn it!”

I felt so seen, like my interests weren’t being admonished, and I was allowed to want to learn. I’ve had a few years of Spanish classes and a German class under my belt, but I still wanted to pursue learning German. Though my foreign language requirement was already fulfilled she was happy to write a note that I wanted to continue my studies. 

She gave me her business card and even shook my hand telling me she was excited to work with me!

I ended up getting an email a little after my meeting, she told me she was happy to have met me and looked forward to another follow up meeting to further discuss my classes once they were approved. 

I was smiling the entire way back from her office. I felt a lot lighter about my decision to switch schools, especially when such an understanding advisor was on my side for once. 

~~~~

You are paid to help students, you lose nothing to be understanding and helpful, but this entire situation was really nice for me. 

To this kind advisor who didn’t laugh or discourage me from picking the classes I wanted to thank you for making my experience a good one. I can only hope my credits transfer properly, but even then, I think I’ll be alright. 

I hope this upcoming year and all those after, you’ll be able to help a lot more people than I, to feel more in control of their own schedule and free to pursue different paths. 

May the good you inspire return to you tenfold.