Being a teenager can be really difficult. First of all, there are raging hormones to deal with. Second of all, there are so many decisions that need to be made, like what to do after high school, whether or not to go to college, which college to choose, etc. Then there’s all the school stress. Especially for students who want to go to college, every test matters and being in a bunch of extracurricular activities is important too. Then there’s peer pressure, bullying and all the crazy “challenges” going around on social media.

We’re seriously glad we’re not teenagers anymore, but as parents, we want to raise the best teenagers possible and help them navigate all the stress and challenges they’ll encounter.

We also love hearing stories about how other people in the community are trying to help motivate and encourage today’s students. For example, there’s one older man who stands outside a middle school and tells motivational messages to the students on their way to school every day. The students look forward to talking to him, saying that it’s the best part of their day.

It’s amazing how much small things like a smile or a friendly wave can impact someone’s day. Think about your morning commute to work or dropping your kids off at school or daycare. If we encounter someone who is friendly and kind for no reason, it can bring a smile to our face even if we haven’t had our morning coffee yet, and that’s saying something.

Tinney Davidson lives in a house that many teenagers walk by on their way to Highland Secondary School. She and her husband moved to this house back in 2007, and they would always sit in the window together in the morning. They would wave at the students as they walked by on their way to school.

Davidson’s husband has since passed away, but she still kept up the habit of sitting in the window and waving at any student who looked in the window at her. She always had a smile waiting for them too. It was as simple as that, a wave and a smile on the way to school.

Recently, the students found out that Davidson would no longer be there to wave that them every day. At 88 years old, she was going to move to a retirement community.

The students were very sad to hear the news, and they wanted to do something nice for their elderly friend as a send-off and to show her how much her morning greeting meant to them.

Watch the video below to see how the high school students banned together to say goodbye.