Inspirational Stories- Funny & True Stories | NotAlwaysRight.com (2024)

Positive, feel-good stories

<!— Post Tags + Location 5/18/17 —> Awesome, Editors' Choice, Inspirational, Teachers |

Learning | April 20, 2016

(I’ve already been having a bad day with ‘aunt flo’ coming to visit, so I’m ready to burst into tears at any moment. This is the day my math professor hands us back our test that we had taken at the end of last week. This is a test I thought I had done actually really well, but that is not the case; I get it back and it’s an ‘F.’)

Me: *trying my best not to burst into tears*

Professor: “Hey, [My Name], what’s wrong?”

(I show him my test and already I’m starting to cry.)

Professor: “Oh, right… You thought you did really well, right? Come on to my office. We’ll talk about this.”

(We go to his office, and I’m already crying my eyes out, barely able to talk but he goes over the stuff with me and we realize I just made simple mistakes and switched some stuff around. Otherwise, he says, it would have been a good grade.)

Professor: “Hey! There we go! It was all just some simple mistakes; here, let me mark them for you, and this way you can have this on the retake!”

Me: *barely able to get out a thank you*

(He let me stay there in his office and helped me to calm down, and offered to help me more on the tests. Thank you so much, sir. Math is NOT my best subject but you actually took the time to help me with it.)

<!— Post Tags + Location 5/18/17 —> Inspirational, Kind Strangers |

Hopeless | April 20, 2016

(I’ve been working in IT for over six years and it can be a really stressful job. I am having a particularly bad day and am a bit vocal about it. I share an office with another person; he is out that day but the door is still open. About an hour later a woman comes by my office.)

Woman: “Excuse me, were you the one having a bad day today?”

Me: *sheepish* “Yes… sorry.”

Woman: “No, that’s okay. I just wanted to make your day a bit better.”

(She places a few candies on my desk but the simple gesture is enough to nearly push me to tears.)

Me: “Thank you so much… You don’t know how much that means.”

Woman: “You’re welcome. I hope your day gets better!”

(It did.)

<!— Post Tags + Location 5/18/17 —> Editors' Choice, Hall of Fame, Inspirational, Kind Strangers, Pay It Forward |

Hopeless | April 20, 2016

(I had major surgery as a child that has left me with fairly significant arthritis. I am in my early thirties, but during the winter, especially when we have damp weather, I am often left hobbling around like someone three times my age. On this particular day I badly need to do dishes and realize I am completely out of dish detergent. I live right next to a convenience store, and so I walk over to purchase some. It is December and there is ice on the ground, so I am not only stooped over and hobbling, but walking very slowly and cautiously. A young man of about 18 sees me crossing the parking lot and reaches the door before I do. He stands holding the door for nearly a full minute before I reach it.)

Me: *almost in tears because I was having such a crummy day and I can’t believe he has waited for me* “Thank you so much. That was unbelievably kind!”

Man: *smiles* “No problem! It looked like you have a little ‘hitch in your gettalong’ today and could use some help!”

(I smile in agreement and go to find my detergent. When I get to the cashier, I am behind the young man again. He is speaking to the cashier and sounds distressed.)

Man: “Are you sure? My paycheck was supposed to go in last night.”

Cashier: “I’m sorry; it’s saying it’s declined. Maybe you should call your bank?”

(I peek around and notice that he has a few cheap frozen pizzas and a few drinks. Being in a college town, I surmise that these are probably his meals for the week and having his card decline means he won’t be able to eat. I am fumbling for my credit card when he starts to walk away, shoulders slumped. I ask the cashier to put his items on my card. She asks if I’m sure, and when I nod vigorously, she calls out to the young man to stop him. He walks back, looking understandably suspicious.)

Me: “Please wait a moment. She’s running my card for your items and my detergent.”

Man: *now looking like HE might cry* “Are you serious? I’ll pay you back; I promise.”

Me: “Don’t worry about paying me back. You were so nice to hold the door for me, and you didn’t say a single thing about how I look all bent over. Please accept these as my ‘thank you!'”

(The cashier had finished bagging his things and handed them to him. He thanked me again and left, looking like a weight has been lifted. To be honest, I think it made me just as happy to do it as it made him.)

This story is part of our Pay It Forward roundup!

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<!— Post Tags + Location 5/18/17 —> Editors' Choice, Inspirational, Kind Strangers, Transportation |

Working | April 19, 2016

(I’m a college student traveling from my home in North Carolina back to school in Pennsylvania after Thanksgiving break. Due to poor weather conditions and cancelled flights I’ve had a terrible travel day. Instead of going from NC to D.C. to Allentown, I’ve flown from NC to Cincinnati to Newark and then taken a shuttle from Newark back to Allentown. By the time I arrive at the Allentown airport on the last incoming flight of the day it is well after midnight. I don’t have a car in the lot, as I was planning on taking a taxi back to the college campus. The airport has technically shut down. After waiting about half an hour at baggage claim, it becomes apparent that my bags haven’t made the trip with me, so I go to the customer service counter for help. I ring the bell at the counter for service. The woman who comes up is wearing a hi-vis vest and is clearly not normally in this position. There are no other employees or travelers in the ticket counter area at all.)

Me: “I’m trying to figure out what happened to my luggage. I just flew in from North Carolina.”

Employee: “Okay, I need to fill out this form with your contact information and describe your bags for me.”

(She asks me my name, my flight number, and some other pieces of information, then asks about the bags again. As I speak, she’s slowly entering information into the computer, causing me to have to repeat myself several times to make sure it’s all correct.)

Employee: “Do you know what brand they were?”

(I don’t know, and I burst into exhausted tears at the question.)

Me: “No, I don’t! I’ve been traveling since seven am. It’s very late and I’m so tired I can barely remember my own name. I just want to get back to my dorm room so I can go to bed. I can’t call any friends to drive me because it’s too late at night. I was going to take a cab but there are no cabs left because the airport is closed. I don’t even know how I’m going to get back!”

(The woman looks me up and down.)

Employee: “Where do you go to school?”

Me: “[College].”

Employee: “Oh, my sister goes there! How about I take you? My shift ends in about 15 minutes and I’ll be driving right past anyway.”

(I didn’t have any shared classes or other connection to her sister, but she still drove me back and wouldn’t accept anything for the trouble. It was still an awful day, and I never did get one of those cases back, but she made it much better just by being kind.)

<!— Post Tags + Location 5/18/17 —> Awesome, Editors' Choice, Employees, Inspirational |

Working | April 19, 2016

(A friend and I are out for lunch. We’re both somewhat socially awkward and have been quiet and stumbling over our words a bit when speaking to others since entering. We’re attempting to pay for our meal and not doing the best job of it. We’ve been trying to sort out coins and not drop any while talking for about a minute and a half.)

Me: *mumbling* “So, uh, that would’ve been three pounds… or would it have been two? And added to yours it would be—”

Friend: “I think the drinks were two fifty? And added to the meal—”

Me: “But how much each is that? Do we pay the whole thing split in half or for our own meals separately or—”

Lady At The Till: “Would you like me to tell you how much it was each?”

(The relief must be visible on our faces because she smiles at us, and then gives us the prices for our meals separately. After we’ve paid, however, I realise a slight problem; there was something we hadn’t paid for due to having split it between us and not a slice each since there had only been one left.)

Me: “Wait, what about the cake? Do we… do we pay for that half each since we split it? Or should I pay since I had the cheaper meal? Or—”

Lady At The Till: “Don’t worry about the cake. You can just have it on us.”

(We were both surprised by this and spent a little while longer stumbling over our words while asking if she was sure. She assured us that she was and was remarkably patient about the whole thing. We thanked her and left. It was a small thing, really, but it left me feeling warm inside the rest of the day.)