It is a daily reminder that we are never truly as alone as we think we are. Someone is always watching. Someone always cares. Mr. Earl never got to see the man I grew up to be.

He never got to know that I went to college, that I found my confidence, that I built a beautiful life.

But I know, deep down, that the reason I made it out of those dark years wasn’t just because I survived them. It was because a quiet bus driver decided to carry my pain for me, 312 times, until I was strong enough to carry myself.