I’m writing this column at lunch in Cannes, France using an erasable shark pen I got for my 22-year-old brother’s 2nd grade classroom. I’m sorry if you thought I was going to talk about partying all semester — this week I’m going to tell a wholesome story if that’s fine.

“All semester” — how cool does that sound? I can’t believe I’m experiencing one; I’m like an actual college student now. I could get used to this life.

Just kidding, Northwestern! I really miss the quarter system.

I digress; I got to the south of France on a bus —  a pretty nice bus, actually — but I didn’t notice this at first because when I boarded, there was a man sitting in the window seat next to mine.

His legs were sprawled into my legroom, and since I couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not, I was sure at any second he might collapse onto me.

Plus, there was no arm rest between us.

For some context, it was 4:30 a.m. At this point, all I wanted to do was sleep. But, with the way I was compressing my extremities to compensate for his posture, I was sure I would not be able to find dreams (sweet or not) on my seven-and-a-half-hour drive.

Now, I felt like a total spoiled brat — there I was, about to head to Nice, France from Florence, feeling totally miserable.

I have this rule in my head that I’m not allowed to be upset while abroad; it’s unproductive, and I have too much to do — I don’t love to break rules.

Careful not to graze my neighbor’s leg, I put my tote bag under the seat in front of me. Then, I noticed something — there were arm rests in every other row! It was just mine that was missing. How weird?

I leaned forward and, surely enough, we had an arm rest! The guy just had it up, because of course he did.

Try to picture me struggling here: His seat was reclined and my arms, despite all the yoga I did over the summer, could not stretch far enough to pull it down.

I kept trying and was ready to give up, until I made eye contact with the girl who was sitting directly behind my neighbor.

Without breaking eye contact, and with such grace and poise, she pushed the arm rest forward.

I am now finishing this installment in my hotel lobby in Nice, and I have not stopped thinking about this girl all weekend. I know it seems like such a small thing to pay attention to. But, that’s kind of the point.

This simple act of kindness that took almost no effort on her part completely changed my mentality and, one might argue, the trajectory of my day.

Because, of course, when I finished putting the arm rest down and turned around to mouth an emphatic “Thank you” to her, it took me all of three minutes to fall asleep.

And, because I love a callback, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that once again I did not get off the bus.

Sylvie Slotkin is a Medill junior. She can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.