Nonfiction Reading Response // Drive-Through Generosity

            According to the article “Drive-Through Generosity” by Upfront Magazine, a trend called “paying it forward” is becoming more popular amongst drive-through customers. To “pay it forward” means to repay a kindness to someone other than the person who was kind to you, otherwise known as a random act of kindness. Cashiers from all across the U.S. to Canada say they see it all the time. Furthermore, these incidences have grown to increasingly larger scales; in 2012, 228 consecutive cars paid it forward at a Tim Hortons in Manitoba, Canada. It is believed that the trend is an effect due to so-called gloomy news around the world.

In the article, the author uses an upbeat tone on the matter, stating, “Don’t be shocked if the car ahead of you has already payed for your burger,” leading us to believe that paying it forward is a positive deed. I, too, share the same biased thoughts on the situation. It’s a beautiful thing for someone to exhibit a random act of kindness, most especially in society today. In a place and time of poverty and destruction, small deeds like these are pleasant surprises that we should aspire to include in our daily lives.

Quoted in the article is a woman living in St. Pauls, North Carolina, who regularly pays it forward. She says it’s about “letting people see…there are nice people out there and maybe we can turn it around.” With the fact that last spring, 67 cars in a row payed it forward in Houston, we truly are showing the world that we are capable of doing nice things.

Seeing a statistic like this can inspire one, and eventually many, to pay it forward. After reading this article, I hope to recreate acts of kindness like this. Paying it forward has also restored a small bit of my faith in the human race- after all we’ve been through this past year, from mass shootings to natural disasters, it’s a pleasure to see that there are still people out there who are there to help.

Works Cited

Rebhun, Elliott, ed. "Drive-Through Generosity." The New York Times Upfront 13 Jan. 2014: 3. Print.