Depressed Teen Plans To Take Her Own Life When A Barista Writes A Note On Her Starbucks Cup
When was the last time you did something out of the ordinary in order to brighten someone’s day? If you can’t remember, don’t feel bad. As humans, we sometimes undervalue the concept of paying it forward.
In our busy, day-to-day lives, time is of the essence as our empathy towards others often times becomes an afterthought. However, sometimes one small act of kindness towards a suffering individual can be all the difference in the world. In fact, one gracious act towards your fellow man can save a person’s life. This is the story of how an ordinary barista’s act of kindness was enough to the save the life of a suicidal teen.
The Story of A Suicidal Teen
By all accounts, Bekah Georgy was a normal, happy teenage girl. On the outside, Bekah was a bubbly effervescent teenager who enjoyed dancing and hanging out with her dogs in her free time. However, no one knew of the hell raging inside of her. But then again, how would anyone know of Bekah’s life-long battle with anorexia, an affliction that even her parents were unable to understand or appreciate fully?
Bekah made an incredible effort to hide her anorexia and the fact that it was killing her…
Bekah explains,“When you look at me, you might assume I’m happy, bubbly, outgoing and full of life. But you don’t really see the complete me. You wouldn’t know that behind this plastered smile is a girl who has broken and fallen to pieces. You wouldn’t know this girl had so much self-hate, she starved herself for over half her young life. Or that she’s tried to end her own life five times.”
One day Bekah decided she was done with living her double life. In fact, she was done with living life, period. She had finally had enough of the constant torment that plagued her young mind on a 24-basis.
Bekah decided on one particularly grim and somber day that she was going to take her life. Terrible feelings of inadequacies progressed into self-hatred and suicidal rage as she was driving to her local Starbucks. Buying a coffee was less of a need for Bekah to jump start her morning and more of an act of going through the motions. Frequenting her local Starbucks on this particularly horrible morning would not deter her from ending her own suffering. Or so she thought.
As Bekah reached the front of the line, the barista noticed she was sporting a look of misery, one that silently screamed painfully in vain to an apathetic world, an expression most of her peers wouldn’t even care to notice.
Her face’s subtle, intense look of helplessness and self-hatred was enough for this warmhearted barista to write a simple, but an overwhelmingly powerful message on Bekah’s iced coffee. It read: Smile!! 🙂
“You were just going about your job, unaware that writing a minuscule word on my drink would change my day and possibly my life…” Bekah says, reflecting on her interaction with the coffee-making, good samaritan.
What this kind-hearted barista did not know was that Bekah spent much of her time visiting doctors and therapists in an attempt to overcome her anorexia. But Bekah was through with the continuous treatment as she felt it had no effect on improving her deteriorating psyche. Bekah had decided that her battle with anorexia was too much to endure; She was going to end her suffering on her terms.
Bekah expressed her gratefulness in a letter she wrote to her unknown hero:
“Dear Barista,
You didn’t know me, and you didn’t know my story. Most importantly, you probably didn’t know writing the simple word “smile” on my order would change my day for the better.
When you look at me, you might assume I’m happy, bubbly, outgoing and full of life. But you don’t really see the complete me. You wouldn’t know that behind this plastered smile is a girl who has broken and fallen to pieces. You wouldn’t know this girl had so much self-hate, she starved herself for over half her young life. Or that she’s tried to end her own life five times.”
“Maybe you wrote ‘smile’ on my drink because you saw the feeding tube. Or maybe you could see past my fake smile because you’ve been where I am.
Either way, I’m grateful. You didn’t have to make my order special. You could have treated me like another annoying customer. But you took that extra second to add some positivity to a life that’s been filled with so much negatively lately.”
We must learn from Bekah’s story so that we can help other teenage girls who suffer from suicidal ideation
We live in a country where young people are ending their lives in epidemically tragic numbers, yet a simple smile was all it took to save Bekah from becoming yet another statistic.
As a species, humans are the only animal that is capable of feeling empathy for those who are suffering. However, lots of good people fail to share their humanly inherent gift while those around them suffer in silence, ultimately choosing to end their own lives.
Just allow Bekah’s story to be a reminder: a good-hearted person dedicates a portion of their thoughts and motivations to those who are in need of their support. After all, it doesn’t take much effort to save a suffering person from tragedy. Sometimes, all it takes is a smiley face written on an iced caramel macchiato.
For additional reading, please refer to the article and its link below:
Barista Little Act of Kindness Original Article
Bekah Georgy of Salem, New Hampshire loves dogs, ballet dancing, and spending time with her loved ones. She’s also been battling anorexia for most of her young life.
