School Bus Driver Spreads Kindness and Positivity
Riding a bus to and from school every day is not terribly inspiring. But one bus driver from Pinellas County in Florida is working to change that.
Anthony Burgess, a 37-year-old bus driver for Pinellas County Schools is making the rides to school and back, a positive and kind experience for the students he drives, reported ABC Action News. So he asked the kids to bring a quote that is meaningful to them that could be taped up on the bus to inspire others.
“For me, I’m not just a driver. I’m an educator, a mentor,” he told ABC news. The kids create the messages, and then in between my routes, I tape them up on the bus.” The pictures and quotes are posted on the bus’s ceilings for all the students to see.
A meaningful gesture
While this may seem like a small thing, it has a lot of meaning for the kids that Burgess drives on one of his bus routes.
“I wrote this message on the bus, by Dr. Mae Jemison, I think: ‘Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations,’” said Logan Roberts, an 8th grader at Largo Middle School. “Got this one up here, this pink one right here, ‘if you can dream, you can do it,’ by Walt Disney,” Logan added.
Other inspirational quotes are by Mother Teresa and other role models, or from music and movies, but what they all have in common is positivity and kindness, according to Good Morning America.
Making a Real Difference
Much to Burgess’s surprise some of the quotes that student’s chose are things that he has told them on their bus rides or quotes specifically about him. “The world is brighter because you’re a part of it – Mr. Anthony,” one note reads.
“What really got to me, actually … was when I told them to pick a quote from someone that inspires them. Several of them wrote, ‘Stay awesome – Mr. Anthony.’ They used me and I didn’t even think that would even be a thing. But that was really, really, really nice,” Burgess explained.
When GMA asked him which quote was his favorite, Burgess said that all of them are really perfect, adding, “I didn’t realize how impactful it would be on these kids,” he added. “And they love it. And it’s really neat.”
