I Decided To Become A Nice Person, My Incredible Journey

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00:00Hi everyone, my name is Hope. Please like and subscribe to MSA. Also, we've just dropped some

00:04exclusive MSA merch. We're talking stylish bottles and notebooks that are total must-haves.

00:09Click the link in the description and see for yourself. That winter, when I was in fifth grade,

00:13the world turned all white with snow. Our classroom was cozy. But one day, the principal

00:18brought in a new girl named Maya. She seemed shy and wore old clothes. Our teacher, Miss Albert,

00:24asked us to welcome her, but most of us stayed quiet. Maya sat next to me, smiled, but I moved

00:29away. My best friends were Kendra and Sophie. We whispered secrets and giggled together. Maya tried

00:34to join us once with her toys, but we said no. As days passed, we whispered and laughed about Maya's

00:39old clothes and strange toys. We didn't want to play with her. As spring arrived, Maya wore a pretty

00:44dress, but it looked like someone else's. We called her Never Knew and laughed again. One day, she

00:50jumped rope alone, not looking at us. This time, she didn't ask us if we wanted to play with her.

00:54She jumped and jumped and jumped until we went back inside. Then one day, Maya didn't come to

00:59school. In class that morning, we talked about kindness. Miss Albert placed a big bowl on her

01:03desk and filled it with water. We all gathered around and watched her drop a small stone into

01:08it. Tiny waves spread out from the stone. This is what kindness is like. Every little act we do

01:13sends ripples into the world. Then, Miss Albert let each of us drop a stone in while sharing our kind

01:18deeds. Joseph had helped his grandmother. Kendra changed her baby brother's diaper. And even Andrew,

01:23the bully, had done something nice by carrying the teacher's books upstairs. I stood there,

01:28holding Miss Albert's rock, but I couldn't think of anything to share. I passed the stone on. Maya

01:32didn't come to school the next day or the day after that. Every morning, I walked to school slowly,

01:37hoping today would be the day Maya returned and smiled at me. I promised myself this would be the

01:42day I smiled back. Each kindness, Mrs. Albert had said, makes the whole world a little bit better.

01:47But Maya never came back to school. Miss Albert told us she had to move away. I walked home alone,

01:52thinking of the smiles I never shared, the kindness I never gave. I threw stones into the

01:57pond, watching the ripples. It was like the chances of being kind to Maya were gone forever.

02:02That day, as I walked home alone from school, I noticed a boy standing on the corner, looking

02:07lost and confused. Hey, are you okay? I think I'm lost. I can't find my way home. I thought about

02:13what Miss Albert had taught us about kindness, so I decided to help. You know what? You can come with

02:18me to my house, and we'll figure it out from there. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

02:23He followed me, and as we walked, we started chatting. I'm Hope, by the way. I'm Jake. Nice

02:27to meet you, Hope. He looked poor, and I thought my wealthy family would be thrilled to help someone

02:31in need. Well, not exactly. Jake and I entered the house while my parents were in the middle of

02:36an argument. They stopped immediately when they saw us. Hope? Who is this? So, remember when I said I

02:42wanted to start being kind? Well, I found this boy who seemed lost, and I thought we could help him

02:46find his way home. Are you out of your mind? What if he's a serial killer or someone dangerous?

02:51He's 12, Mom, and since you're overreacting, I'll take him to my room. Come on, Jake. Let's go.

02:57I took his hand and led him upstairs to my bedroom. Mom was such a narcissist. Even though I was young,

03:01I could see right through her. Like this one time when I was six, I was excited for take your child

03:06to work day. I thought Mom would show me off at her big office, but nope. She was too busy shining like a

03:12star with her work friends. I tried to keep up with her, but she didn't even look at me. It was like I

03:16was invisible. Then at lunch, while I was alone munching on a cheese sandwich, I overheard her.

03:21Her boss said she was great at her job, and she told him kids would just get in my way. Ouch. That

03:26stung. I was sitting right there, and she acted like I didn't exist. It hit me hard. To Mom,

03:32her job was everything. And me, I just didn't fit into her perfect picture. And from that day on,

03:37I didn't look at her the same way. If she wasn't going to act like my mom, I wasn't going to treat her

03:41like one. But in my bedroom, Jake had a point. Not to be rude, but aren't you being a bit mean

03:47to your mom, even though you're trying to be kinder? Well, zip it, or I'll beat you in the next

03:51game. Now, pass me the PlayStation controller. Game on. And just like that, Jake and I hit it off. He

03:56was new in town and didn't have much. That's why he was lost that day. Mom didn't like us hanging

04:01out, but I didn't let that bother me. Life was more fun with Jake, and I felt like I was really

04:06becoming nicer. A few weeks later, I asked Dad if Jake could join my private school. Dad always

04:10called me his little princess and would do anything for me. So, he said yes. Well, my best friends,

04:16Kendra and Sophie, hadn't changed one bit. They were still pretty mean. I kept Jake a secret from

04:21them for the last few months. Jake and I agreed to act like strangers at school until I figured

04:25things out and felt brave enough to be his friend openly. The day Jake started at school, Kendra and

04:30Sophie surprised me. Look at that hottie over there. He looks poor, but God, I'd pay him to be my

04:36boyfriend. Yeah, let's pay him together. We can share him. So, when Maya joined us last year,

04:41we didn't want to hang out with her because she didn't have much money. But now you're all excited

04:45about a guy just because he's good looking? Oh my God, why are you so obsessed with this Maya girl?

04:50Listen, Sophie, let's hire some private investigator to find this Maya for our friend, and she can just

04:55shut up about it. Ha, you're hilarious. But seriously, just leave Jake out of your games. Wait,

05:01how do you know his name? I overheard a teacher say it, but really, just leave him be. You know,

05:05Hope, since you're so insistent. Now I really want to talk to him. Let's go, Sophie. Great. Just what

05:10I needed. They went to him and said, Hey there, Jake. You're new here, right? Yeah, we thought you

05:15looked interesting. Want to hang out with us? Jake seemed to be taken aback, but agreed to chat with

05:19them. For the next few days, Kendra and Sophie became interested in Jake. They wanted him to be

05:24their friend, but they had a different plan in mind. They offered him money to run errands and do things

05:29for them. I tried to warn Jake that he was worth more than being used like that, but he didn't listen.

05:33He said, If you want me to stop helping them, you'll have to tell them that we're friends. I didn't know

05:37what to say to that. I wasn't ready to ruin my image by having a poor friend, especially because

05:42Kendra and Sophie wouldn't stop laughing at me. Yeah, that's what I thought. But those words,

05:47Jake distanced himself from me and grew closer to Kendra and Sophie. They started giving him more

05:51money, and he became somewhat distant. I missed my friend. Then one day, I saw Jake holding their coats

05:57and acting like a servant. I'd had enough. I approached him and dragged him aside. Why are you acting like

06:03this? Don't you have any dignity? You want money? Fine. I'll give you money. Just stop hanging out

06:07with them. Well, I don't mind helping the prettiest and most popular girls in school.

06:11Everyone now respects me and thinks I'm cool. And also, I don't know why, but you act like you're

06:16better than them. Well, I am. You'd rather see them treating me like this than standing up for

06:21your friend because you're too ashamed to have someone like me as a friend. How does that make you

06:25better than them? At least they're nice to their parents, while you're rude to your mom and take

06:29advantage of your sweet dad. You never show him any love. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I couldn't

06:34speak, so I just stormed off. To make things worse, that night, my mom came to my room and said,

06:39Hey, Hope, I wanted to let you know that I've decided to divorce your dad. I've packed my things

06:44and I'm leaving in the morning. I came to ask if you wanted to come and live with me, although I

06:48already know what you'll say. Yeah, since you already know, please leave and close the door behind you.

06:53Mom left and I buried my head in the pillow, letting out a frustrated scream, but I refused

06:59to let my tears fall. I took a deep breath and decided I was going to take matters into my own

07:03hands. Tomorrow, I was going to teach all these jerks a lesson. The moment I saw Jake the next

07:08morning, I said, I'm going to ask my dad to stop paying for your school if you don't stop hanging

07:12out with Kendra and Sophie. How about that? Yeah, cool. I'll ask Kendra and Sophie to help.

07:16They'd love to. Now, please go away. I have some things to do. Yeah, like licking Kendra's shoes,

07:21for example. Suddenly, Jake looked at me with angry eyes and a stern expression. He held my

07:26shoulders and pushed me back slightly. Listen, Hope, you need to understand that you're acting

07:30like a bully, even if you don't see it. Threatening your friend to do things that only benefit you

07:34is selfish and wrong. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but for now, please don't

07:39talk to me. Whenever you see me, just look the other way. I hope you have a good life, Hope.

07:43And with that, he walked away. I stood there in shock, then rushed to the bathroom to let out my

07:48feelings. When I got there, I found Kendra and Sophie laughing and chatting. In a moment

07:52of frustration, I said, listen, you two, you need to stop treating Jake like he's here

07:56to do your commands. Whoa, calm down, girl. We don't treat him like that at all. He's just

08:01a nice guy who offers to help. But you pay him. Yeah, so what? If you have a friend who

08:06has less money than you and could use some help, why not? Oh, come on. We all know you're

08:10not exactly the nicest people. Yeah, we're not denying that, but at least we're not ashamed

08:15to be seen with a less fortunate friend in public, unlike you. How did you even know that

08:20Jake was my friend? Well, it's pretty obvious that you care about Jake. We even think you

08:24have a crush on him. Yeah, just be nice to the person you like. I know it can be hard

08:29for you, but look at us. We can do it. If being nice to a friend means treating them

08:33like a servant, then I'll pass on that kind of advice from people like you. With that, I

08:37left the bathroom. Weeks passed, and I stopped talking to Jake, Kendra, Sophie, and my mom.

08:42Although, mom hadn't stopped messaging me and inviting me to her house, I ignored her.

08:47One day, I woke up super sick and couldn't go to school for four days. No one asked about

08:52me or missed me. I felt very sad and vulnerable. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I had

08:57to talk to someone, and I knew exactly who that someone would be. I went to Miss Albert's

09:01house. She looked surprised to see me. I told her everything. I don't get it. I wanted

09:06to be kind. I helped a person in need. But they chose to be with someone mean, and when

09:09I tried to warn them, they told me to buzz off. And now the mean people are the ones

09:13who are giving me advice to be a kind person. How exactly did that happen?

09:17Honey, you helped a person in need, and it's a good thing. But you want to help them on

09:21your own terms only, and this isn't how kindness works. Sometimes you have to go out of your

09:26way to help others. True. It basically implied that I was ashamed

09:29of Jake, and now he chose to be with some mean girls. Remember that there's goodness

09:34in everyone, even if you think they aren't nice. We're human beings. We have goodness

09:38and evilness, and the best of us are the ones who can control their evilness when it's most

09:43called for. I hugged Miss Albert tightly and left. The next morning, I entered the classroom

09:47and excused my teacher to say something. I just want to say I'm sorry to Jake. He's a good

09:52guy, and I'm honored to be his friend. The whole class fell silent, surprised by my confession.

09:57Jake smiled warmly at me, and I could see the relief in his eyes. Your mom's been texting

10:02me and asking me about you. She doesn't know we weren't talking, obviously. Want to go

10:05to her place after school? I'd love to go with you. I smiled and nodded my head.

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