A Few Shades Happier

Awesome, Inspirational, Non-Dialogue, Restaurant, USA | Right | July 3, 2020

Thanks to some fun genetics, I start finding gray hairs around age sixteen. It really picks up as I enter my mid-to-late twenties, and before age thirty, my temples are mostly gray, with streaks of white throughout the rest of my head.

Since I’m a brunette, it stands out quite a bit, and while I try not to let it bother me too much and I’m too stubborn to dye it, I’m a little insecure about it.

I’m at a conference with some work colleagues in another city, and we stop at a small restaurant near our hotel for dinner. I’m picking up my food at the counter when the cashier, a young man, says, unprompted, “Your hair is really pretty!” Nothing else; he just complimented me, smiled, and handed over my change.

My colleagues asked me what I was suddenly so happy about when I walked back to the table, and I didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the evening. Sometimes, little kind gestures can really make all the difference.

This story is included in our Feel-Good roundup for July 2020!