Buying a Stranger a Coke

The other day my teacher gave us an assignment to buy a stranger a “Coke.” He wanted us to try it and see how we felt about it. Well, first of all, I was pretty excited about this assignment. I thought it was a cool idea and a good push to be more outgoing. Little did I realize how hard that assignment would prove to be. In the mornings before work, sometimes I go to a gas station and pick up a coke to survive the day. I work really early every morning, but usually I don’t get to sleep at a reasonable time. So as I was there, I timed my purchase perfectly so that the other man who was getting a drink in there would HAVE to go behind me and then I would just tell the cashier that his was on me. Well, as I jumped in front of him as he was walking up, another cashier came from the back and helped him at the other register. I was not happy that my plan was spoiled! Strike 1. The next time I tried, I was with a friend. We just ate waffles together and I told her about my assignment. So we went into 7-11 to complete the assignment. I started getting a Slurpee, checking out who all was in the store and seeing if I could time it perfectly and get right in front of them. I tried to unobviously stand around, waiting for someone to look like they were ready to check out, but the cashier called out to me, “Are you ready to check out?” Unfortunately, my friend didn’t completely understand the assignment at the time, and she said “Yes!” So I had to check out. Strike 2. I felt like maybe it was a little hard because I didn’t have any cash. If I did, that should make it easier, right? Well, I drove me and my friend down to the bank to get some cash, then we drove by the next gas station. All I did was drive by it and look inside. There didn’t seem to be anyone in there I was interested in buying a drink for, for some reason. I think I just didn’t want to put myself out there. I don’t know why it was so hard, after all it was only a nice deed. Maybe it was because I felt like I had to form the perfect situation so the my purchase of their coke would seem like the heroic thing to do. Strike 3. As we were driving away, I realized I needed to stop coming up with excuses and just do it! So, I took my friend with me to the next gas station we drove by, got out, and waited patiently while a lady filled up her cup. As I saw her finishing up, I quickly grabbed a candy bar and got in line to buy it. She came up behind me, and the cashier asked me if that was all I wanted. I told her to put the lady behind me’s drink on my tab as well. And I told the lady I would buy it for her. Then she showed me she had a free drink coupon. So much for my heroic buy. Then I told her really not to worry about it, it was for a class. So much for my appearance of good intentions. But, she was still really flattered, and as I left the gas station I saw her point me out to her son, who was in the front seat of her car. I waved and smiled, and realized I felt pretty good about what just happened. I think I felt the best about how happy she seemed and surprised that I did that for her, as well as the happiness I felt for actually conquering my fear. Although I’m not really sure where that fear came from or why I had it. I’m not usually afraid of being outgoing in social situations. Especially if it’s helping someone out. Maybe it was because this person clearly didn’t need help at all. All in all, I would say it was a great experience. And I encourage others to try it. You can learn a lot about yourself, and it just feels good to make other people happy. Even if it takes 4 tries!