What is The Nicest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for You?
We asked complete strangers this question.
These are the the answers we heard.
I was at the grocery store and a homeless man was at the deli counter counting out his change. He looked very upset. I think he was afraid that he did not have enough money to get anything to eat.
I walked over and I told the gentleman behind the counter to give him whatever meal he wanted. I told him to make sure it was a full meal with all the sides. The homeless man was very grateful and he thanked me.
I then went about my business and did the rest of my shopping. It took me about another 45 minutes.
As I left the store the homeless man was outside waiting for me. He thanked me again. He then handed me a rose that was wilted over and looked like it was dying. The bud was almost completely closed. I smiled and I thanked him. I put the flower in my bag and then I headed home.
When I got home I put my groceries away and there in the bottom of the bag was this rose. I put the rose in a glass of water on my window sill and went about my day.
About an hour later I went back into my kitchen and I looked over at the rose again and I couldn’t believe my eyes The rose was standing up straight and tall The bud had fully opened up and was a bright beautiful red. It was glorious. It was the most beautiful rose I have ever seen. I actually got chills…..It was truly stunning. Just absolutely stunning……… So yes….. that man giving me that rose is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.
I was paying my way through college and I ran out of money. My aunt gave me the money so I could continue. No strings attached. I was able to finish school a couple of years later.
I was a foster kid bouncing around from family to family until I was about 5. Then I met my mother…. and then she adopted me. She is my best friend in the world. She started to cry.
This woman at work took me under her wing and mentored me. I work at this big insurance agency and this woman was my boss. She just kept giving me more and more responsibilities. Challenging me. Then she started to travel and started leaving me in charge. She told me she would back any decision I made in her absence. She told me that she may question my decisions, but she will only do it behind closed doors. She continued to push me right up until she retired. We are still friends to this day.
I was dating this guy who was dealing cocaine. This other guy I knew kept telling me “why are you hanging around with this loser? You are better than that.” I became addicted to cocaine. I had to go to rehab. He said he would stick with me all the way through. No matter what. He did stick with me through all of it. He was amazing. I have been clean and sober for 10 years now. He is now my husband and we are trying for our first baby.
My father has never been around for me. He has always been out of the picture. My mother signed me up for an after school program because she had to work. My uncle by marriage came and picked me up so I didn’t have stay in the after school program. Then he did it every day. I would be with him and his kids all the time. They would take me on weekend trips with his family. They would take me out for my birthday, to the movies to baseball games. He really stepped up as the man in my family. I am still really close with him.
I was homeless and many people gave me money and food. It is easy to judge. It means everything when you are hungry.
My mother just being my mother. I started losing my eyesight when I was 12. I am 25 and completely blind. Everything my mother has done for me. Just hearing her voice when I wake up is the nicest thing.
The people at the boys and girls club. They showed me that I could have more in life. They gave me a plan. I went on to graduate from college and I am now a director at the boys club
My mother passed away a few years ago. My friends uncle took me out for the night knowing that my mother had passed. He took me to his friends house for dinner and drinks. That friend was Jeffrey Katzenburg. They were so generous and so kind to include me. After dinner we then went down into his theater room and watched movies. It was an incredible night and an incredible experience. They were so kind and generous to include me. They did it at a time when I was so upset. It was amazing.
My husband used to beat me and my kids. One night when he was drunk I called the police. I filed for divorce. When he got out of jail He went in and emptied all of our savings then he went out and ran up $46,000 worth of credit card debt. My mother came and got us. We lived with her for 8 months until I could get back on my feet. A woman at the social services gave us food stamps and put us in section 8 housing. I didn’t even know we qualified. We had no furniture and a friend went out and bought us a couch and love seat. We only had to pay $300/ month for our apartment. This gave me the ability to go back to school. I am now a nurse. All those people my mother, the woman from social services, our friends and family. They all helped me at our lowest point and got us to where we are now.
I am from Japan and I came to the US to go to school. I did not know anyone. I met this woman at the gym and we became friends. She introduced me to her family. It was such a relief to know somebody. We are still friends and I refer to her children as my little brother and sister. It was so kind of her to befriend me.
I was laid off and my wife supported me during my unemployment. When I got the Job I had to travel out of state and she was alone with our kids. She was like a single mom. She Never complained once about it. She was amazing.
My parents had challenges with drugs and alcohol when I was young. For my 13th birthday my mother was in jail. My great uncle and great aunt stepped up. When my mother got out of jail she moved to another town about 30 min away. I was going to have to switch schools. My aunt and uncle let me stay with them until I got my license. Them letting me live with them was the nicest thing. Then I moved back in with my mother. She has been clean and sober for 18 yrs.
I was new to this country and I lost my phone. I had no way to get home. A complete stranger gave me $20 to get home.
My mother had a stroke while driving her car. She was paralized on the right side of her body. I was 15 years old. My brother was 10. Our father has never been around. I worked 3 jobs. Friends and neighbors brought us food and watched my brother. They paid our electric bill. They helped care for our mother whenever they could. They drove us around to our school and my jobs. My mother is rehabbed now and is back to work. I am 25 and can finally go after what I want to do
I suffer from depression I was supposed to go out with my friend and I told her I just couldn’t. She came over to my room. I told her I couldn’t go out. She said, “ok. Then we will stay in”. I was on the bottom bunk and she climbed on the top. ” So what do you want to talk about?”
“Can you move to the couch?” Ok.
“I brought movies”
“I brought popcorn”
We stayed in and watched movies. I forgot what I was depressed about. She took care of me.
We had a loss in our family a few weeks ago. Friends brought over meals and took care of our needs. It was so generous.
I had a coach in baseball. He taught me the power of positive thinking. It literally changed the trajectory of my life.
I was out partying and drinking when I was younger. I got in a fight and I was getting the better of one of the guys. One of his friends came over and shot me in the face. When I finally recovered I was blind in both eyes. About five years later I was hit by a car. My back was broken at c5 and c7. They had to do a spinal fusion. I had bolts screwed into my skull and they hung 60 lbs off the screws in my skull to take the pressure off my back. The doctors saved me and I was able to walk again. I now have 2 little girls. The doctors saved me. That was the nicest thing.
I was in college and had been living on one top ramen package a day. I was down to 83lbs. I weigh 135 today. I finally got a small check and went to the grocery store. When I got to the register I was $50 over. I started trying to put things back. This guy behind me said how much is her order? I’ll pay for the whole thing. I cried. It was such a big gesture.
My family didn’t have any money. We were very poor. We were at the grocery store and the man behind us paid for everything in our cart. It was amazing.
My wife made me a quilt for my birthday. She could have bought one, but this meant so much more. It was a ton of work for her.
When I was in high school I broke my front tooth. My family didn’t have any money to pay to have my tooth fixed. My teacher took me and paid to have it fixed.
When I lived in the Philippines I had a very good house and 2 house keepers. I lived a very good life. My business partner stole all my money. My best friend gave me all her jewelry to help me financially. I now live here in the US and I am a caregiver. I am no longer angry and I am happy to have such a wonderful best friend.
We were talking about ICE and how they are modern day concentration camps. This really conservative guy I know let me voice my opinion and we discussed it without anyone getting crazy. In today’s environment it was really nice of hIm to let me voice my opinion without getting crazy.
I work in video production and these guys I know always send me work whenever they get it. They kind of look out for me and it keeps me afloat
My uncle got me a job at the printing company I work at. It is a good job.
I am a gay man and when I was a kid I used to wear this Polly Pocket necklace/ purse. You could fit like chapstick in it. All the kids were teasing me and giving me a hard time. The next day when we came to school the teacher was wearing a Polly Pocket necklace. He was a straight guy with no kids. So I know he had to go buy it. It was such a nice thing to do.
The nicest thing anyone has done for me. I did it for myself. I quit my job as an attorney. I hated it. I moved on from something that was making me very unhappy. It was so liberating. You can be the one that does something nice for you. It is ok.
When I was a little girl we were making pillows for our mothers in home economics for Mother’s Day . I was absent and they ran out of material. I was upset because I really wanted to make one for my mother. My friend invited me over that night and when I got there she had all of the materials to make a pillow all set out. It was so sweet and thoughtful. I was able to make my mother a pillow.
I did a nice thing. I was in the army and I had a hotel room for the night while I was out in CA. I was walking back from dinner and I saw this homeless man trying to sleep on this bench. I had a couch in the room I and I told him he could come stay on the couch in my room. He could take a shower and in the morning I went down to the continental breakfast and loaded up a plate for him. That is the nicest thing I have done for anyone.
My husband and I were separated. I have a really religious friend who I was afraid to tell. We went to lunch and I told her. She hugged me and then put her hands on my face and pulled me in close and said. You are going to be ok. It meant so much.
We bought a new house that was a fixer upper. We bought it because it was all we could afford. We told our friends we were going to be tearing out the kitchen and jokingly said if you want to come by and help…. about ten of them showed up. They brought tools. They brought food. They brought their strong backs. What would have taken us a week took a day. The thought of it makes me cry.
My parents divorced and I was going to have to move and go to a different school. My brother who was 12 years older than me stepped up and let me live with him. I was 12. My father was no longer in the picture and a few years later my mother died. My brother basically raised me.
My father had passed away. For my birthday a friend framed a card my father had given to her. It is the only thing I have in his own handwriting. It meant so much to me.
My aunt and uncle gave me money to go on a two month mission to Asia. I got to see different views of the world and see things we take for granted in the us. We rebuilt an orphanage that was set up for girls who were rescued from sex traffickers. It changed my views of everything.
My uncle adopted me. I was down at the bottom of the bottle and he taught me how to be a good human being and how to function in the world. I have been clean and sober since then.
I never had a father. A few years ago I was homeless. A friend of mines father took me in and let me stay rent free until I got on my feet. He taught me what I needed to move forward. He gave me the tools I needed to move forward. He changed my life. He taught me how to be a functioning member of society. I am still extremely close with him and his family.
They accepted me for who I was. Flaws and all.
The never ending and continued support and love of my wife.
In the time before cell phones I was waiting to be picked up by my parents after school. My parents were late picking me up and I was alone waiting in front of the school. This woman brought me to her house across the street from the school. She let me use her phone to call my parents. She went way out of her way to make sure I was ok.
My friend drove 6 hours each way just to hang out with me.
My friend lent me money. Didn’t ask for what. Didn’t ask when he would get it back. He just said get it to me when you can.
I was in foster care and I aged out. My brother and sister were still with the family. We would have been separated. A friend of my father’s took us all in so we could be together. We are now a part of their family and included in everything they do.
They saved my daughters life. She had a really bad headache one night. Took her to the Doctor and they said she was dehydrated. We went home the next morning she was throwing up. Took her back to the Doctors. They did a cat scan and she had a tumor. They immediately transferred her to another hospital and 12 hrs later she was having brain surgery to remove a baseball size tumor. The drs and the hospital staff saved her life. She is now fully recovered. She graduated from college. She is a teacher and she is getting married this summer. Those Drs and nurses saved her life.
I was at sprouts getting a sandwich. I forgot my wallet at the office. The guy behind me in line paid for my sandwich. He had never met me before. He had no idea who I was.
My father was a teacher at my school. There was a controversy with a student and my father at the school. My father was eventually exonerated of any wrong doing, but everyone at school was coming up and asking me where he was and what was going on. This one guy who I only kind of knew asked me if I was ok. Not what was going on, but how I was. Everyone else wanted to know the gossip. He wanted to make sure I was ok. It was very nice and meant a lot.
My friends mother who barely knew me would always give me rides to school. When my parents were still at work she would invite me into her house to study and make me snacks. It was very nice
My lula (grandmother) took care of me while my parents were at work. She would pick me up from school and slice fruit for me to have everyday. She had a lot of grandchildren, but I always felt like I was her favorite.
My little brother came to the US illegally. He had a serious heart problem. He went from Florida to San Diego to California Most hospitals won’t work on an illegal. The Drs gave him care at CHOC in Santa Ana CA. He later died he was 4 years old.
I’m transgender. On pride week I was wearing a shirt with the pride flag At a restaurant the waitress had me stand up and recognized me by my chosen pronoun. He/him. It made me feel so good. My own parents didn’t even do that.
I was new here and my English was not so good. I don’t drive so I take a lot of public transportation I was taking the bus for the first time and the bus driver could tell I was nervous. He just kept talking to me. Asking me questions about where I was from and making small talk. I knew he was just trying to calm me down and make me more comfortable. It was very sweet.
My parents divorced when I was three. My mother married another guy. When I was in junior high school I was on the computer chatting with a friend of mine. We were saying not so nice things about some girls at school. My step father saw what I was typing and he said you will find you get a lot farther in life treating women with respect. He was a good guy. He took the time to teach lessons big and small. I never forgot that. It helped shape who I am as a man today.
My mother was in financial trouble and was going to lose her house. I was in school and was unable to help her. I didn’t have any money. The girl I was dating took the money from her student loan and lent it to me. I didn’t ask her, she offered. She helped my mother save her house.
My sister saved my life. When I was a little girl. I was trying to light the pilot on our heater and my nightgown caught on fire. I was running towards the bathroom to put out the fire with water. My sister saw me and grabbed a coat and tackled me to put the fire out. She saved my life.
My family is not from this country and we did no have any relatives here. When I was born my mother did not have anyone to watch me. She asked her friend at work and she couldn’t, but she knew someone who just had a baby who might be able to help. This woman helped and now is like family to us. She is my brothers god mother. They didn’t know us at all and took us in like her own.
I am not from here and I don’t have anyone family here in Ca When I started going to school this woman set up a registry for me. All of her friends went to the registry and started buying me things I needed for school. It was so nice.
My son is on the Spectrum. Our school changed the schedule and my sons individual class was taken away. Much of the staff seemed indifferent. Most people don’t realize when you change a schedule or a set pattern for someone on the spectrum it can be very upsetting. He was very upset. The principal said she would meet with him individually. She met with him everyday. It made all the difference. This one woman championed our son. He is now doing really well. It is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.
I had joined the air force and I had gone through basic and I had 14 days off before I was being sent to Japan. I was stressed out because I had spent all my money and was worried that when I got to Japan I would not be able to get from the airport to my base. My mother in the past was known for going into my wallet and taking items out that she was afraid I would lose. So when I got to the airport my mother called me and told me she took my social security card out of my wallet and I needed to check to see if it was there. I got mad at her and told her she shouldn’t be doing that and I would need my social security card to get on base. I was pissed and I got really mad at her. She told me to check my wallet to see if it was there. I was busy being mad. Just check your wallet and see if it is there. I opened it and there was $400 and a note that said momma’s always got your back. I cried like a baby.
A customer at the grocery store gave me a gift card for Christmas. I had only worked there for 2 months. It was so sweet.
I was traveling home from Europe and I ran out of money. I had zero dollars. I did not know you could only have one bag on the flight or they charge you. I couldn’t just leave one of my bags. This woman paid for my extra bag. It was so nice.
I was messed up on drugs and went to jail. My friend and my family stuck by me the whole time.
My employees trusting me.
I have worked at a car dealership for 15 years and this guy bought quite a few cars from me in that time. When he passed away he had a very detailed will. In the will he spelled out everythingl. He wrote in the will that he was sure that if his wife came to see me that everything would be handled correctly. I actually cried.
I walk with a cane. My granddaughter told me to take your time gram. My son being patient with me as I get older.
I guess it was about fifteen years ago. A woman met with me to clean her building. I didn’t have any experience. She gave me the opportunity to prove myself. It opened doors for me that I would never have imagined would be open…. it changed my life. She was the manager of a Target. The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me is give me an opportunity to succeed.
I was out partying and drinking when I was younger. I got in a fight and I was getting the better of one of the guys. One of his friends came over and shot me in the face. When I finally recovered I was blind in both eyes. About five years later I was hit by a car. My back was broken at c5 and c7. They had to do a spinal fusion. I had bolts screwed into my skull and they hung 60 lbs off the screws in my skull to take the pressure off my back. The doctors saved me and I was able to walk again. I now have 2 little girls. The doctors saved me. That was the nicest thing.
I was in college and had been living on one top ramen package a day. I was down to 83lbs. I weigh 135 today. I finally got a small check and went to the grocery store. When I got to the register I was $50 over. I started trying to put things back. This guy behind me said how much is her order? I’ll pay for the whole thing. I cried. It was such a big gesture.
My family didn’t have any money. We were very poor. We were at the grocery store and did not have enough money to pay for our order. The man behind us paid for our entire order. He told my mother to put back what little money she had in her wallet back and save it for another day. It was such a really big thing at that point in our lives. My mother cried.
I was adopting my son. It was an open adoption.(one where the birth mother meets the adopting parents). She chose me…. she chose me. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.
This woman gave me clothes. We were very poor. All of my clothes were old and had holes in them and they were worn out and stained. She bought me clothes. It was the best gift I ever received. She didn’t even know me.
I think when a person has something that is awful in their life. What that person needs is the opposite. If they were beaten and showed evil and hate. That person probably needs love and that will make that person complete again. A stranger did that for me.
My girlfriend broke up with me and my friend came and spent the weekend with me. It was a 4 hour drive for him to get here.
I couldn’t find my wallet and I was panicking at the cash register. And this woman paid for my order.
My wife moved out of the country with me. My job had me move out of the country and my wife came with me.
I had 3 write ups at work. If you get 4 you are supposed to get fired. I was supposed to have a 4th and my boss didn’t give it to me because she said I was nice and she liked me.
When I was 16 my dad bought me a car
My ex husband sent me a picture of our family. He called me and told me that he forgot how beautiful I was.
My ex boyfriend was really nice to me. Even after we broke up we remained friends.
My father gave me his credit card while at school.
My father woke me up in the middle of the night to watch a marvel movie. We got up and ate corn chips and watched the movie together. Now any time any Marvel Movie comes out we watch them together. It has made us very close.
My father left us when I was little girl. Sometimes it gets me really upset. Whenever I get upset my sister will drive to see me and comfort me. She always stays as long as I need her to. It is over an hour away.
My mother is a single mother of 3 girls and a hairdresser. Her clients have always helped us. They have brought us food and clothing in the past. They helped us have a Christmas one year when we didn’t have everything. They are like family to us.
My husband bought me a house.
Jesus Christ died for us.
When I was in college I went on a 400 mile bike ride in Mich. we camped on this guys farm. He woke us up in the morning to cook us breakfast. It was so nice.
A co worker told me, You are as scary as a bear and as soft as a teddy bear.
My families unconditional love. I have ms and my family is always there for me. They fly in from out of state to be there for my Dr appts. They even come for marches for ms . It means everything to me.
I used to complain about a lot of little things. My boyfriend told me there are a lot of people a lot worse off than me. I guess he showed me how to concentrate on the good things
When I was 17 I got pregnant. My parents accepted me and supported me and they continue to help me.
I was sick and my friend covered my shift at work
My mother passed away and my sister in law paid for my ticket back to the Philippines. She also helped me get to the US which changed my life.
Old couple. She said yes. Who? My wife. What did she say yes to?
When I asked her to marry me she said yes. That is the nicest thing anyone has done for me.
My boss paid my tickets off for me. It was $1500. I was able to get my drivers license back.
My father started a business and he passed it on to me.
I was partying after I lost a job. Living on unemployment. Friend talked his boss into giving me a job as a dishwashers. Then I was always asking the brewer questions. Brewer taught me how to brew beer. Now I am a brewer.
My parent let and encouraged me to go to California. I’m from a small town not many people leave. It has allowed me to become a man. Find a place to live, Pay my own bills and go after my goals.
I have done well and I have been able to give people small amounts of money. Listening to them tell me how it helped them has been a nice thing. I tell them to pay it forward. I was taking him to the oncology dept of a hospital. He was thinking positive.
They gave me an opportunity. I was given a lab job. That opportunity made me want to do better in school. That got me into a better school. Then a better med school. Now I’m a Dr and I live a very good life.
I raised three boys. One of my boys friends had to live with us. His mother was a single mother who was a foster child herself. She just wasn’t given the tools to handle her situation. After living with us for a while this boy called me mom. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.
I was a child is bosnia and I got to live. The people of the Bosnian army saved my life and many others. They are still paying the price for the atrocities that they lived through. They have no medical and no way to deal with the ptsd that they all live with on a daily basis. Nobody knows about them and nobody cares. I am alive and many others are alive because of them. Yeah I got to live. That is the nicest thing anyone has done for me.
Gave me a home. You don’t know how important that is until you don’t have one. My parents were both drug addicts. My mother died. I have no idea where my father is. I was put in the foster care system at 15 yo. My friends family took me in. They couldn’t handle what I was going through. I’m sure I was lashing out. They kicked me out. A friend stepped up and let me move in. Most people don’t know what it is like to not have a place to live to not have a home. Yeah, they gave me a home.
I was video chatting with my sister and my phone kept freezing. She sent me a new one in the mail. She never said anything. It just showed up.
I was hit by a truck and my arm was shattered pretty bad. The motorcycle police officer who was there came to see me in the hospital. Whenever he sees me around town he always stops to ask me how I am doing. His name is officer Hamilton in Coronado.
I was an exchange student in Chile and one night I got food poisoning. The host mother didn’t want to do anything for me. When the host father got home he physically picked me up and took me to the hospital. He stayed with me the whole night. he barely knew me.
My grandmother was dying. She lives in Las Vegas. I went to the airport. My boyfriend works at the airport. When he saw me and saw how upset I was. He said I am coming with you. He was supposed to be working. His actions showed me I was more important than his job
My father told me I was the strongest person he ever knew. Father died when he was in the fifth grade. His mother died when he was in the fourth. Went to live with Grandma. She passed away. He now lives with his sister. 4.8 GPA
This girl in Compton works late in after school program and she has woman brings hamburgers
I switched schools when I was in high school and this girl came up and said hello and became my friend. I didn’t know anyone at my school.
I was trying out for a play and I did not get the part. I was really sad and my friend across the room smiled at me and put her hand on her heart. It seems small, but it meant everything to me.
I work in a hospital. This kid was dying and no one came to see him at hospital. I visited him and continued to visit him until he passed. She started crying and then said. “I was depressed for 2 years.”
My brother and I were in a gang fight. My brother was stabbed. When I was in the hospital with him he told me he always had my back. That meant the world to me. We both have left that world behind. I am going back to school in the fall.
I was drunk by the beach. Partying way too hard…. It was a really bad night. This was the time before uber existed. I had thrown up on my self. This old guy, A complete stranger gave me $100 and told me to get myself home.
I am a single mom and my mother has stepped in like she is the father. It is kind of amazing. She does everything.
My employer backed me in a lawsuit. It cost them 1.5 million dollars to protect my right to work.
We hope you do one nice thing today. Hold a door. Tell someone they look nice. Maybe just smile at them. You might be the person that gets them through the day.
