Hey it’s Rick, Lean on Z presents ‘Feel Good Fridays’. Good news is good for your mental health, so here’s a story to help you feel good going into the weekend.
This week’s story comes from Atlanta, Georgia, where Latonya Young, a 44-year old single mother of three, was driving for Uber when she picked up passenger Kevin Esch. It was late in the evening, the two began to chat, and Latonya shared that she was working because she needed money for her utility bill. She also talked about wanting to be the first in her family to graduate college, but too many challenges in life forced her to drop out. When the ride came to an end, Kevin tipped enough money to cover the utility bill, and made her promise that she would go back to school. “he motivated me,” Latoya said. “I made up my mind, I wanted to go back to school.” but, then came another problem: she could not re-enroll until she paid her earlier tuition balance of almost $700. She told Kevin, who contacted the school himself to pay the tuiton. “I didn’t want that to be a roadblock,” he said. “I was in a place to be able to do it, and it was the right thing to do.” Latonya, motivated by Kevin’s emotional and financial push, made a vow to graduate. Kevin continued to stay in touch, and when Latonya finally finished her degree, he also showed up to the graduation ceremony. Today, Latonya is pursuing a job in criminal justice and writing a book on how Kevin helped turn her life around, saying, “I hope his kindness inspires other people to help someone.
— Rick Morton
