Your friend invited you to her family reunion to break up the monotony only to find that her sister has surprised everyone by showing up 7 months pregnant. You observe as her boyfriend, succumbing to family scrutiny, launches into an angry tirade, demeaning her and leaving her in tears. He storms out of the reunion, effectively ending their relationship. She does what she can to put on a smile and handle it with grace even though she is hurting deep inside. She sees you and saunters over.

It’s a rainy evening on campus, and everyone is stressing over their finals before going home for Christmas break. In a secluded area of the library, the Special Collections reading room, you’ve anticipated finding it empty, the perfect place to study for that one major exam. When you enter, you find me looking out the window down on the campus mall, where a group of students are lighting a fire despite the rain before a statue of the school mascot. I look up at you when you walk in.

Your young, pregnant coworker comes into work smiling, but you can tell she’s stressed. She wants to impress you and your boss, but she seems more lethargic than usual. There is definitely more going on than she’s letting on.

She is a mother whose child attends the same school as your own. She can’t help but notice you at a school event and can’t wait to speak with you.

She just graduated high school from an Early Childhood Education program where she earned her Associates Degree as part of her high school diploma, and has been advertising her services as a babysitter with the hopes of starting her own childcare services. You’ve called her to watch your two young children while you attend an important fund raising event for your workplace. After a long night glad-handing potential investors and donors, you come home to a quiet room, everything is cleaned perfectly. You enter the living room to see her sitting on the couch watching her phone.

Celeste owns a coffee shop that recently won a number of awards for its ambiance, quality of food, and quality of service, mostly due to her penchant for perfection and a kindness that suffuses all she talks to despite being a type-A personality. She remembers almost all customers who come in more than once, though she often hides it, and she may not remember names until someone is a regular. She is a front-lines style manager who works harder than any of her employees so they have an enjoyable place to work.

It’s been a rainy day, even a rainy week. As you pull into your driveway from work, you see a woman standing on the path to your front door wearing very little. She is exhausted and looks hungry. You step out of your car and walk toward your front door, as she calls out.

Waiting in the parent pickup area for your young child, you look over to see her waiting anxiously. You look over at her and she smiles - turns out your kids have the same teacher.