Lessons From Jennifer

On Monday I took the Front Runner train and a bus to get back to my Provo apartment from a trip that I had made to Salt Lake City. Normally, I don't associate with others on the bus. That is my wrong, I know. There are just a lot of "crazies" on the bus system that I would rather avoid and so I distract myself with games on my phone. At one stop, a person in a wheelchair got on. The bus driver locked her into her spot and called her "Jennifer". At one point, she had trouble communicating and the people behind her realized that there was a problem. She was flipping out over something and they didn't know what the problem was but it was obviously important to her. At this point, someone had just engaged in conversation with me and asked my name. I told him but something said to me "armrest" and I noticed that Jennifer's wheelchair's armrest wasn't where it was supposed to be. It was flipped back and she didn't like that at all. I jumped up and fixed it and sat down, hoping to get out of the conversation that I was in and any future conversations by going back to my phone. However, helping her out made her very happy. She said "Thank you, Haley!" She had overheard me say my name earlier. Those simple words really touched me. She was genuinely thankful and had cared enough to know my name. I put my phone in my pocket and scooted closer to her and we talked for the next ten minutes. She was a very happy person and it made my night to be able to talk to her. I found her to be very intelligent and friendly. She asked how long I had been at BYU and when I said "5 years" she got excited and asked if I had served a mission. To me, this experience was a lesson to me about showing interest in other people and about engaging with those that you normally wouldn't. I definitely have nothing against people with special needs. I would have totally engaged with her at school or the store but I normally don't engage with anyone on the bus. In the little bit that I got to spend with her, I remembered what it felt like to serve others; I learned about friendship; and I learned about the importance of "opening our mouths" with anyone and anywhere. I am very thankful for the opportunity that I had to engage with Jennifer and to learn those lessons again.