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Man on Train Overhears Life Advice From Kid—’Cured My Self-Consciousness’


While they wouldn’t be the most obvious place to turn for life-altering advice, there are times that kids drop golden nuggets of knowledge before we even have a chance to register what they have said.

One of these moments was recently caught by Jeronimo Noriega. He was minding his own business during a train journey when he overhead a high-school student give his friend a piece of advice that had to be shared with the world.

In the viral TikTok video, Noriega said: “A kid on the train just gave his friend some advice, and I think he cured my self-consciousness.”

Noriega added that the kid was coaching his friend through talking to a crush, something that many of us still struggle with into adulthood, only to be blown away by what his response was.

Noriega said: “So, from what I understood, his friend has a crush on a girl, and he can’t really talk to her because he’s scared of what he’ll say will sound dumb.

“And his friend was like, ‘Dude, you have to assume people like you… If you don’t know them, you have to assume f*** them’.”

It seems Noriega (@jeronimoooo0000) wasn’t the only one to be impressed by the child’s advice to grow your confidence, as the video has gained over 506,000 views and more than 60,000 likes since it was shared in May.

Noriega said: “I’m eavesdropping and he’s curing me. He’s making me figure out it’s fine. It’s not that I’m insecure, but self-conscious.”

The advice clearly worked as the friend agreed to talk to his crush, with Noriega adding how the boy had “just got Mahatma Gandhi’s advice over here. You got a sage wisdom.”

“There’s no way a 17-year-old was thinking of this stuff. I mean, it’s 17 at the max. They’re going to high school… I wanted to go and pat his back, like, ‘That’s helping me. That means you.”

Man Relaxing on Train Journey
A man relaxes, wearing a shirt and tie in his seat during a train journey. A poster has gone viral after overhearing advice from a child on a train that “cured my self-consciousness.”

Digital Vision/Getty Images

What Do the Comments Say?

Viewers of the video were impressed by the boy’s wisdom at such a young age, as one wrote: “The kid is spitting facts. It’s our pain and rejection that makes us more guarded than necessary thanks a million for post its great reminder.”

“‘You have to assume people like you’ is my new mantra,” added another.

Others also took the opportunity to share life-changing advice they had heard, as one shared, “one of my friends told me ‘i always assume people like me until they prove otherwise and if they dislike me that’s their loss’.”

Newsweek reached out to Jeronimo Noriega via TikTok for comment. We were not able to verify the details of this case.