Well my story starts 3 years ago. I was working in a retail store; I like to talk to everybody and know what's going on in there lives. I remember this one girl who started working there a few moths after me. I remember always seeing her. I don't know why but for a weird reason we would never talk. We would just see each other and smile.

She would always smile in a really happy way until one day when we got to work in the same department again. She smiled as if she was the happiest girl in the world. I went up to her and asked "What's wrong with you?" She answered "Why?" I said, "I could feel you're very sad and you're always trying to hide it."

Her mouth just dropped as if I had discovered her deepest secret, so we started talking. She told me why she was feeling like that and why she was trying to hide it. Time went by and we became good friends. She'd always tell me I had changed her life in so many ways. I could not imagine. I would just smile, not really understanding what she meant by that.

Today this girl is one of my best friends. I really don't know what I would do without her. She has been there for me in every possible way a friend could be.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you never know when you're helping yourself. I helped this girl never knowing that at the same time I was helping myself by finding a truthful friend.

So the next time you see a stranger and they look like they need someone who will listen to them, listen to what they have to say. You never know, you might just end up helping yourself.