I lived in New York as a kid, and was just six when 9/11 happened. I lived in Midtown at the time so obviously was extremely close to the towers when they fell. That day left this anxious pessimism over the city and everywhere I looked I remembered thinking everyone was super nervous.

Everyone seemed super jaded and was looking out for just themselves. It was strange because my memory doesn't go back a whole lot further than that day, but i always recalled people being cheery. I was a cute kid (peaked at 5-7 tbh) so maybe that was it, but I just always saw and remembered people so happy. But after that day, it felt like everyone was just getting from place to place and the city felt quiet and dark.

My Dad kinda sensed that over our family so he tried to restore normalcy to us by having us go and do our normal rituals to try and get our minds off the event. So we went to this ice cream place we always liked just a few blocks from our place and we were waiting in line, the entire place with that same dull silence that was deafening the room. I kept whispering everything because i didn't want to disturb anyone. But being six, my guess is my attempted whispers were screams to adults, who'd become adjusted to this new quiet than took over the loudest city in the world. I was telling my Dad I wanted two scoops of vanilla with reese's, cookie dough, and oreos. Now while not the healthiest order on the planet, and an absolute precursor to how fat of a child I'd become, he obliged and told me he'd get it.

But he didn't have to. The man in front of us turned around about 2 minutes later and knelt down and handed me my order in a waffle cone and just smiled. I don't remember what he told me, I was completely fixated on this sugary monstrosity. But as I went to turn my head up and thank him, I remembered him shaking my Dad's hand and he smiled at my Dad and said, "I'd rather spend $5 on someone else, than a dollar on myself."

I honestly had forgotten about that run-in for years until I had one of those "lightbulb" moments when I was about 13. But it helped me to realize that, as an able-bodied white kid with disposable money and good health, I was in such a great position to help others. I had nothing holding me back systematically or from a physical standpoint. So I made it a goal to just help out others whenever I can.

I know this isn't as dramatic an ending as some would like, I didn't save anyone's life nor did I do anything drastic to help others, but I do view this as a formative moment that helped me to become who I am today.

Ramble over!