The kid who stood up for you in sixth grade might not even remember it. You do. That’s what courage leaves behind.

Small acts of nerve land unevenly. For the person doing it, it is thirty seconds and forgotten by dinner. For the person it was done for, it can become one of the few things they still remember clearly from that year. That gap is worth knowing about, because it means you have probably already done this for somebody without hearing about it, and the next one costs you far less than it is worth.

If you can still reach whoever did it for you, tell them. If not, do a version of it for somebody else this week and expect no thanks.