My younger sister has always been obsessed with a famous Spanish actor. And when I say obsessed, I mean really obsessed — to the point where she once bid in an online auction for a napkin he used and a lock of his hair. While the rest of us rolled our eyes, she took her fandom seriously. She started learning Spanish, studied nonstop, and eventually got accepted into a university located in the same city where the actor lives.

She even rented a place near his neighborhood — yes, that close. Our mom found it ridiculous, but I admired her passion. What started as celebrity worship turned into real personal growth. She’s now fluent in Spanish, thriving in school, and has built a life for herself abroad. She still adores the actor, but her current boyfriend takes it in stride. It may have started as a wild obsession, but it led her to independence and a life she loves — and I’m proud of her.

A while ago, I went on a first date with a man who seemed polite, if a bit quirky. At dinner, he excused himself to use the restroom and left a $100 bill under his plate. I didn’t touch it, even though it was just sitting there in plain sight. When he returned, he smiled and picked up the money, saying, “You’d be surprised how many people would have pocketed that.” Turns out, it was a test.

Apparently, he had been burned in the past by people only interested in his money. He later told me he’d started using little “honesty tests” to weed out the wrong ones. A little weird? Yes. But I passed. We ended up dating for almost two years — and while we eventually went our separate ways, it was a relationship built on trust from the very beginning. Sometimes, being a good person really does pay off.