Just like the majority of other students going to my school, I have ridden the bus ever since kindergarten. I can’t say I liked it; my busses were always full of loud students who didn’t know how to sit down. But for some reason, I always got blessed with really great bus drivers. I remember the one who I had up until fifth grade, and I would always make a point to say “thank you” as I hopped down the stairs. In middle school, I had another bus driver, who I also showed my gratitude towards when treading down the steps of the bus. When I started high school, I was met with yet another bus driver; this one, a sweet old lady. I believe that positivity should overpower negativity.

High school was a new experience for me, as it was for every other student in my grade. But I was used to the daily bus ride to and from my house, so I could always have something familiar to me in the first few days. I really liked my bus driver. She was funny, kind, quiet, but always empathized with the kids on our bus. We both made it a point to spread kindness to each other. She always wished me a nice weekend or day, and I always thanked her for safely getting me, and everyone else, to our destination. Even when some students were arguing loudly in a joking matter, she would chuckle along with them and even quietly say something that made us close enough to hear laugh. While I didn’t see her nearly as often as any other adult in my life, it made me smile knowing she seemed like a content woman. Well, it seemed that way anyway. Because she took the effort to always seem upbeat during her job, I would have never guessed anything was wrong with her. After the middle of the year, she had a slight cough. I assumed, or hoped rather, that she just had a cold. But despite her seemingly deteriorating health condition, she kept up the sweet words and the positivity. I remember the day I was getting off the bus after a long school week. As usual, she chimed, “Have a nice long weekend!” I wish I would have said something more than “Thanks, you too!” but I can’t read the future. The day before I had to return to school, I got a phone call from the principle, bearing the news. I didn’t cry. I knew she wouldn’t want me to.

It didn’t take the loss of a life to make me realize the importance of positivity; however, it did show me how special it is to have someone that bears strength in their ability to remain bright in the roughest of times. That person was my bus driver.