In an inspiring story coming out of Brooklyn, NY, 22-year-old Amara Hayes dared to take the road less traveled by beginning to cross a busy street before the five random people behind her had a chance to.
“I saw the light was about to change, but I guess no one else did,” Amara told us. “So I just started walking across the street, while everyone else still had no idea that it was time to cross yet.”
And this extraordinary sequence of events doesn’t stop there.
“Next thing I know,” Amara said. “Everyone behind me saw me crossing the street, and then they all started crossing the street, too!”
Okay, fearless leader!
What would these pedestrians have done if Amara wasn’t there? We have no idea. But we still asked her for her thoughts about it.
“They might have missed the light completely if I wasn’t standing in front of them,” Amara said. “Or, even worse, they could have walked into oncoming traffic!”
Hm, we’re not so sure about that, but she definitely made an impact!
“I was on my phone when I was waiting for the light to change,” said Brooklyn resident and reluctant street-crosser, Leslie Johnson. “So when I saw that someone was crossing, I thought, ‘Oh, cool, we can cross the street now.’”
Wow! It’s amazing how someone can completely change the course of history with one small step into the street.
“It’s not all about me though,” Amara, the humble heroine, told us. “I used to always be a follower, just following behind whoever crossed the street first. But that means that one of the people who were behind me this morning will probably be the first to cross the street too someday.”
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Amara said. “Figuratively and literally, if I end up being one of the pedestrians behind them.”
We’re looking forward to it too, especially if we’re on our phones when it happens!
