Chivalry is Alive

This morning, I was checking my Facebook timeline when I passed by this image from Strait Times. It intrigued me because the man looked like Choi Siwon of Super Junior. I thought 'what happened?' and read on.

It turns out that the man is Choi Dae Ho, an ordinary South Korean student who's in Singapore for a Taekwondo training. In short, he's a foreigner. But he took his SG$4 slippers off and slipped it to the feet of a barefooted old woman who was in the bus with him. 

Chivalry is still alive. 

I was totally moved by what Mr. Choi said in an interview with ST. When asked (perhaps) on why he did that, he said "It was a small gesture on my part; and it was something I felt I had to do... or I would regret it."

Indeed, there's always this feeling of wanting to help. I believe everyone is capable of feeling such kind of emotions. Only, not everyone is brave enough to give in to it. You see, every heart is seeded with kindness. It's just a matter of how we let that grow. 

Mr. Choi had imbued in me a certain feeling of hope. There's still goodness to hold on to. This world still has a chance to be the 'better place' we've constantly wanting it to be. What we just have to do is to step out in the open and disregard whatever people might say, and just do what our heart tells us to do. Even if we walk barefooted so others won't, it's very rewarding. 

To be honest, I don't think Mr. Choi intended for this to go this sensational. I wouldn't want this to go on public, if I did this myself. But then, I suppose it's a rather good thing that this came out. At least, people will be motivated to follow his footsteps - and the footsteps of so many people who are doing good things despite not being in the spotlight. At least, people will know that being chivalrous and being nice towards others (especially elders) is not something to put in the back of our minds. 

And as human beings, we have the responsibilities to take care of others - even though they're not directly related to us. I hope people refrain from letting their social statuses get in the way of their desire to help. And if you are thinking that doing what others don't is an embarrassment, think again. It's not. In fact, it's one way of proving others that most times, challenging the norms is the only way to prove that there's still goodness in this world. 

For the news on Mr. Choi's chivalry, check out this article from Strait Times.