2,977 unsuspecting people died in the sudden attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. The entire country watched in horror as the Twin Towers went up in smoke.

For years, Americans have used the anniversary as a day of mourning and remembrance. In addition, many communities across the country use it as a day of service.

After so many innocent people died, it would be easy to lose faith in human nature. The choices of a few twisted individuals led to the death and destruction of many.

However, these volunteers still believe that people are good–good enough so that the volunteers are willing to dedicate their time and money to assist random strangers.

Such a simple belief is so hard to maintain. The world is not always kind. People can be rude, abrasive, inconsiderate, and selfish.

People tend to do what is best for themselves and do not always care about the people they hurt. Sometimes they are not even aware of the damage they leave behind. Most everyone in life is just trying to get what they can out of it, ignoring the other people they leave trampled in the dust.

Surely these volunteers have not been shielded from the world’s cruelties, but instead they are the exceptions to the rule. They do things for other selflessly instead of doing what they want to do. They still work hard to improve the lives of random strangers in the little ways they can. While the gestures can be as small as words of encouragement, they can mean so much.

A cup of soup to a homeless person or a flower to a stranger can mean more than you can imagine. The world is a harsh place, and you can never know how much of an effect your actions may have. If our negative choices can go far, why shouldn’t our positive decisions?

While driving from Georgia to Chicago overnight, a kind-hearted friend of the Guardian staff named Crystal and her husband pulled into a rest stop for a break. They discovered a man was sitting alone at the rest stop in the middle of the night. He looked worried, and so Crystal decided she would ask him if he was all right.

The man told her that he was riding his motorcycle when he started seeing double, so he pulled over to recover before resuming his drive. Crystal asked if he was feeling better and he said no. They gave him a ride to the nearest town and found a hotel for him with a hospital nearby. Crystal asked him if he wanted to go and have a doctor check on him and he agreed. After medical examination, the doctors told him that he had a stroke while driving which caused him to see double.

All Crystal did was give him a ride to a hotel from a rest stop, but she inadvertently saved his life. If she hadn’t driven him to the hospital, he could have continued driving and died in a car crash.

If we could use this one day as motivation to do something nice, we should take it. Every day should be a Day of Service, but one day a year is a start. If everyone just did one good deed that day, the world would be just a little bit brighter.responsible choices and less reckless pursuit of the almighty dollar.