10 Women Discuss Small Acts Of Kindness They've Received From Other Women

Small acts of kindness can go a long way.

1. A Little Pick-me-up

"When I was moving to the city, I was NOT prepared for how hard the search for an apartment would be. It was so gruelling, disorienting, and exhausting – one of the hardest things I'd ever done. One day, I started crying at a café, just as I was going to order.

"The barista was a woman who kindly asked if I was OK. I told her I was apartment-hunting and didn't realise how bad it would be. She said, 'Oh, man, you poor thing. It's SO hard. But you'll do it! I believe in you!"

"And she gave me my coffee for free.

"It was such a little, compassionate thing. It made my week a little easier, her small kindness, and I hope she knows how awesome it was of her."

– Kaye T

2. Saved From the Storm

"I'd just moved to a new city and didn't know anyone yet. One night, I ended up going to a bar outside my suburb. I struck up a conversation with the woman next to me, and we ended up chatting all night and had a blast.

"At the end of the night, as we walked outside, we discovered it was raining – a complete downpour. I didn't have an umbrella, and I'd taken the bus to get there. This woman offered me a ride home, knowing it was way out of her way. I accepted. She even got out of the car and walked me to the door with the umbrella when we got to my apartment."

– Kristen B

3. Ice Cream Cures All

"I had some serious stress at work once, to the point where I was crying almost every day and throwing up, and this new hire bought me ice cream because she could see that I was looking like a real hot mess at my desk.

"Now, whenever either of us is stressed, or when a new girl comes in and looks completely lost, we eat ice cream to cheer us all up. :)"

– Emily T

4. Argentinian Abuelas

"When I was travelling alone in Argentina, I took a tour of an estancia, or ranch. It included an elaborate asado dinner of grilled meats at the end of the day.

"Everyone there was travelling in groups and had been seated together, obviously. They sat me at a big table by myself. I didn't mind at all, but a group of three older Argentinian women saw and waved me over, inviting me to sit at their table. I joined them to be polite, but they turned out to be the sweetest little old ladies I had ever met.

"We spent the whole night trying to communicate with their broken English and my broken Spanish and had a blast. At the end of dinner, there was a truly spectacular, bright pink-and-orange sunset with wispy, fairy-floss-looking clouds. It was a pretty nice night."

– Emily C

5. They Don't Understand Our Pain

"One time I was having cramps at work, so I went to the pharmacy to buy some period pain relief. I just so happened to have a voucher that was good for 20% off pain medication, but at the register it said it wasn't valid for my purchase. The lady helping me out was totally understanding, overrode the register, and gave me the 20% off anyway. 'I don't know why these vouchers never work for these things,' she said. 'They don't understand our pain.'"

– Danielle C

6. Fashion Friendships

"I was working on my thesis for my fashion-design degree, and my collection was taking so much more time to complete than I had planned for. I was staying late every night working on it and coming into class exhausted. A girl from my class, Alejandra, came up to me and asked if I needed help.

"I took her up on the offer, and she stayed up all night with me spiking leather, stitching hems, cutting patterns, and ironing fabric. She did this simply because she didn't want me to have to suffer because I bit off more than I could (conceptually) chew.

"I finished my collection on time thanks to Alejandra, and we became friends afterward. She not only gave me help when I needed it out of the goodness of her heart, but she has inspired me to always look for others to help, just because I know they can succeed."

– Mandy C

7. A Little Help From My Friends

"In my final year of uni, I was very stressed both emotionally and mentally. I had just experienced an allergic reaction to a medication that landed me in the hospital. My busy schedule as a result of running a volunteer program and doing my school work was not helping my recovery. All of this had me down. I found myself at quite a low point, feeling like I wasn’t capable of accomplishing anything of value.

"I came home after a late-night test and crashed. I woke up the next morning to find a package outside my door from the female members of my volunteer staff. It contained notes of encouragement and some of my favourite treats and snacks.

"I found the whole experience so encouraging. It was such a blessing to have a group of women who saw I was in need of support and made me feel capable and valued without any solicitation."

– Aurelia A

8. Treat Yourself

"When I first moved to London, I did this internship as a fashion-week assistant at a magazine where it was my job to organise travel and movements of a team of 10 people. Fashion week is hectic to say the least when you're dealing with a load of people who like to disregard schedules and argue over why someone else got a better seat than them.

"I had a mini moan to my school friend Cris about this one day, and when I came home that night she had left a bag of my favourite cookies, a voucher for a coffee shop, some other lovely little bits, and a note with some encouraging words. That really was a moment where it was like, 'I want this person in my life for a long, long time.'

"She also sent me this huge poster of a seal lying on a bench when I got my first official job, which I opened in front of all my new colleagues. That was the best."

– Josie A

9. Bus Buddies for Life

"When I was in my junior year of uni, I had a summer internship in a new city. I lived in the suburbs, but I didn't have a car. So I had to take the bus.

"There was a group of women who also took the bus every day. At first, they didn’t say much to me, but as the summer went on, they slowly started asking me questions and telling me about themselves. They showed me photos of their kids and travels.

"What I had thought would be a miserable ride to work on a gross public bus turned out to be a great start to each day. On my last day, they surprised me with doughnuts and a gift! At my stop, they all said, 'The 66' – our bus number – 'will never forget you!' I felt so special and haven’t forgotten them either."

– Laura H

10. Bike Angel

"A few years ago, I was biking home from work and got hit by a van. I was thrown from my bike and landed on my back. I thought in that moment I was dying. I was terrified, writhing on the ground, my arm was bent REAL weird, and the driver of the van had gotten out of his car to scream at me. Again, I was SURE I was dying, and I was alone.

"People stopped to watch how it would all play out, concerned but keeping their distance. Then a woman sat down next to me in the middle of Lexington Avenue and started talking to me. Not really about anything specific, not really with any urgency or concern – just more like, 'Wow, this is an interesting situation you've found yourself in. Can I join you?' My breath came back, and I was able to calm down and have this odd but intensely comforting interaction with the woman.

"Ten minutes later, the ambulance came, and she said she was gonna take off. I'll never know how she knew that I needed someone to talk to me like nothing weird was going on. I didn't even know that that's what I needed. But she nailed it, and I think about her like once a month."

– Kristin R

All images via iStock

What's the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you? Share your stories below and let us know who had your back during a tough time. And when it's that time of month, Libra's got your back.

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