As a journalist and also as a student, I often find myself getting caught up in the rush of it all. So when a random act of kindness comes my way, it tends to make me slow down and enjoy what's in the present.

On the last day of the fall semester, after writing essays and completing projects all night, I was in a rush to get to my first class.

Cutting through campus, slipping and sliding through the slosh that was determined to bring me to my knees, I had no time to notice that my wallet holding two credit cards, my student ID and apartment keys had somehow managed to slip out of my bag into the snow.

I made my way through the last day of classes never noticing my wallet was missing until I received a voicemail from a man who said he found my wallet. At first, I was caught off guard. Initially I was surprised that I did not realize my wallet was missing. But then I started to think about how honest and thoughtful the man was to go out of his way, despite his busy schedule, to try find the wallet's rightful owner.

I met the man on Calder Way to retrieve my wallet and thanked him repeatedly. I marveled again at his thoughtfulness, and later learned that the man had called my both of my banks to report my missing cards.

A week later, I had one of those "in a rush" moments once again and I lost my cell phone. I was going home for winter break on the bus, and the trip home took longer than expected. As soon as the bus came to my stop in King of Prussia, I scrambled out off the bus in search of luggage and found my dad in the crowd for the drive home. In those brief seconds between jumping out of my seat and running for the exit, my cell phone must have slipped out of my pocket and landed in the hands of a new owner.

It wasn't until later in the evening that I realized my phone was missing. I looked everywhere figuring I had absentmindedly left it beneath a pile of clothes that was beginning to accumulate on top of my bed. With no luck, I tried calling my phone using my mom's cell, and I encountered the unexpected: A guy picked up the phone. When I asked him where he was, he said I could meet up with him in one of those shady, creepy tones of voice. I hung up in a panic and yelled to my brother for help. Both my dad and brother continued to call my phone leaving countless voicemails, but the guy never picked up the phone again. My phone, along with all the contacts, were gone for good.

Unlike the person who found my wallet, he seemed to have little, if any interest in returning my lost phone. I ended up canceling my phone immediately.

Before I made no connections between two the events. Of course, I learned that these items are replaceable, and though they are assets to my everyday life, they have no attachments to my being.

And I also learned that it might be a good idea to slow down and not rush through my days.

It's a refreshing to know there are people out there who are honest and will go out of their way to perform random acts of kindness. The man who found my wallet had been working on Calder Way and ended up staying a few extra minutes before traveling to find me. He could have just left with the wallet, just as the guy who found my phone did.

We all can learn from this man, whose name I never learned, but whose actions I will never forget.

We can take time out of our days, we can take time away from the rush of it all.

All it takes is a helping hand or like the cases above -- a simple phone call.