On my flight home, I noticed something so random and unexpected. I was doing what I always do, staring out the window as we were taxiing to our gate, thinking about how nice it will be to finally hit a restroom, and I spotted a breast cancer awareness luggage cart of all things. It was American Airlines, (whom I love) and I just thought it was such a random thing to stick a pink ribbon on but it was really great.

Considering how cold and stark airports tend to be with everyone rushing, tired, stressed and miserable while glued to their phones or just trying to get where they’re going, the world can feel very distant and mechanical. Seeing that pink cart felt different. Even in a place built around efficiency, someone made a choice to highlight something personal and important.

Once it sank in, this is such a clever placement for a pink ribbon where thousands of people pass through every day. People sit by airplane windows all the time lost in their thoughts. Someone could be heading to a doctor’s appointment. Someone could be flying home after hearing bad news. Someone might still be processing a diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. For many, it probably goes unnoticed but for someone in that moment, it could mean everything to not feel alone. It feels like a quiet way for the airline to say to that person, “We see you.”

I started this blog as a kid to help other kids with no money come up with interesting ways to support cancer research. I’ve written about awareness quite a bit and sometimes awareness is about placing a message where people least expect it and this was definitely one of those moments.

As a teenager, it also makes me think about how people my age can support companies that choose to do things like this. I think that just noticing matters. Posting about it, talking about it, writing about it helps reinforce that people actually care when companies use their visibility for good. If American Airlines sees that students and travelers are paying attention and appreciating it, they’re more likely to keep doing it and expand on it.

I have no income, no money, my parents sent me to school, they got me this flight home, but I do have a voice, a platform and a community. As students, we might not have as much influence as we’d like but just being part of the conversation can make a difference. This pink luggage cart didn’t change my flight but it changed how I felt sitting in that window seat and leaving the plane. In an environment that tends to mostly suck, when everyone around you is impatient, rushed and impersonal, it added a moment of humanity.