It was a Saturday evening, and I was entering the train terminal around 7:00pm to catch the next train back to campus from the Belfast city centre. As I was walking into the terminal, I saw (and heard) a girl, probably around my age, sitting propped up against the wall, talking to herself, obviously under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. In simple words, she was in a state I have never seen. Many people were walking by giving her dirty or pitiful looks, or asking if she was okay and then continued walking. I too had continued walking past, but had also continued to look back, with my gut telling me to go back to her. It was windy and rainy out, and all I could think of was getting to my bed with a warm cup of tea in hand… nevertheless, I ended up making a U-turn and heading back her way. A security guard named Paul had stopped to check on the girl, who’s name turned out to be Sophie. Long story short, Paul and I ended up taking care of Sophie in this train terminal and saw her into an ambulance an hour and a half later. Paul and I had given up our coats to cover up Sophie (mine ended up being thrown up on… guess I don’t have the luck of the Irish??), and when Sophie had left in the ambulance, Paul offered to get a bag for my coat, buy me a cup of tea, and get me a free train ticket home. This man had just stopped in the middle of his evening to take care of this girl he didn’t know, and then helped me out to get home too.
I am still figuring out all I learned from this incident. (For me: follow your gut, put others first, help out a stranger when you can; for Sophie and pretty much everyone since this happens quite often: don’t leave your friends behind!!! take care of yourself, and take care of each other.) However, I think the main thing I learned is to just have faith that there are still good people in the world, like Paul. This night could have ended up in a much worse way for Sophie. I was getting emotional just hearing her cry and seeing her in such a state lying on the cold floor of the train terminal, knowing that there are plenty of people who end up in these situations and don’t have people like Paul there to stop and lend a hand. Next time I won’t hesitate and won’t have to turn back, because I’ll stop by the first time. I am so glad Sophie was okay, and so glad I met someone like Paul. 2 hours on a random Saturday night taught me a lot. Thanks for listening. Cheers!
