After the Brussels attack, many opened their homes to stuck travelers. She got in her car.
Ann Glorieus was working from her home in Brussels when she heard that bombs had exploded at the city's airport and in the Maelbeek subway station.
Ann Glorieus. Photo by Monica Monte, used with permission.
Her thoughts immediately turned to the hundreds of travelers stranded by the attacks. With trains and flights on hold throughout the country, Glorieus decided to press her car into service.
"Nothing is so depressing as being stuck somewhere when all you want to do is be at home," Glorieus told Upworthy.
Glorieus was one of hundreds of Belgians who used the Twitter hashtag #IkWilHelpen ("I want to help") to offer support and services to those impacted by the bombings.
A note is left in Brussels' Place de la Bourse after the March 22 terror attacks. Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images.
Residents of Brussels and cities across the country offered rides to far-off cities, resting places, and lodging to those who were unable to get where they were going due to the shutdowns.
While many of the drivers who posted on the hashtag said they'd happily pick up passengers along their route, Glorieus went the extra mile.
A blocked highway at the Brussels airport. Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images.
According to Glorieus, she initially made two trips from her home in Brussels, driving three people to Aalst, about 30 km away. Then, she returned to the city, picked up four more people, and drove them to Antwerp, about 45 km away.
Later that evening, she made a third run, picking up four college students who were stranded in central Brussels and driving them to Antwerp, returning home close to 1 a.m.
Quinten de Raedt, one of the riders on Glorieus' second trip, told Upworthy via Twitter that none of the passengers in his group realized Glorieus was driving miles out of her way until it slipped into conversation in the car.
"She just thought she should do something for the people stuck in Brussels and decided she could play ... taxi."
Enormously grateful for the ride home, de Raedt called it an "act of pure generosity, kindness, and social responsibility."
Passengers in Glorieus' second car trip, including de Raedt (back center) and Glorieus (front right). Photo by Ann Glorieus, used with permission.
The rides, he said, along with the dozens of Belgians who were giving blood and offering refuge, were a small, unexpected source of comfort on a horrible day.
"We were all surprised at the amazing willingness of everybody to help," de Raedt said.
Glorieus said that while there was "no upside to this madness," it felt good to be able to do something.
Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images.
Even something as simple as giving a lift to a few people among the hundreds in need.
"Being able to offer help is actually a plaster for my own sadness," Glorieus said. "Today it made me happy that I could bring people back home when they thought they were going to be hours before arriving home. And maybe, maybe it helps to counter all the ill will in the world."
"Although I suspect it's only a tiny drop of water on a hot plate."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."