In the past, BuzzFeed spoke to Samantha MacIntyre, a marathon runner who was vlogging her training when she noticed a car following slowly nearby. After trusting her intuition, Samantha approached a house along her running path that she knew belonged to a family she'd seen playing together outside. The father of the home allowed her inside their gate, where she was able to call police and ultimately make it safely home.
The story has stayed with me ever since, and I often think of strangers like the dad who was nice enough to offer Samantha a safe space when she needed it. And the situation got me thinking: When have you been in a situation where a stranger stepped in and helped or protected you?
Maybe you were out late with friends and everyone else's Uber arrived before yours. So you were on the street alone at night when a guy approached you and tried to force you to go home with him. But luckily, someone passing by noticed how uncomfortable you looked and offered to wait with you until you got in the car safely.
Maybe you were on a hike when you slipped on a branch and started falling down the side of a hill. But a stranger heard the impact and helped pull you back up.
Or maybe you were walking to your car after going grocery shopping and someone in the parking lot approached you and warned about a strange person who placed something odd behind your license plate. After taking a peek, you realized it was a small tracking device.
