Yesterday’s front page of the Chicago Tribune featured a story on Tommy Carroll, who is a blind student at Glenbrook South High School. Read it. I’m a sucker for stories like this that both inspire and humble me.

This story is especially touching to me because I once saw Tommy Carroll out to lunch with his friends at Chipotle. I didn’t know who he was at the time or anything about him. I did notice a tall kid with his hand on his friend’s shoulder, and I wondered what the deal was with that. It wasn’t until I saw his walking stick (or whatever the technical term is) that I noticed he was blind.

He ordered his food. He paid for his food, sat at a table, and was engaged in conversation with his friends. (Before you think I stalk high schoolers, I happened to be sitting at the next table.) When the boys were ready to leave, one of his friends grabbed his hand and placed it on his elbow to guide him out.

I was moved by everything I had witnessed. Once I saw “blind” and “Glenbrook” on the front page of the paper, I just knew it had to be a story about that kid I saw that time at Chipotle. It was nice to learn more about him and see what an amazing kid he is–and how amazing his parents and his friends are.

I’m gonna go randomly hug someone right now.