This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series, from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.

In 2008, Kate Elsley was working as a nurse practitioner in Redwood City, a suburb of San Francisco. Every day, she would commute from her home in the city, first taking a train and then walking the rest of the way to her office. Most days, the trip wasn't noteworthy. But in 2008, Proposition 8 had just been announced. It was a ballot measure aimed to outlaw same-sex marriage in California and her commute now took her past sign after sign supporting the ban.

"It was very emotional for me to walk by businesses or people's homes that had signs supporting Prop 8 because I just would always think, 'Why do they hate me?'" Elsley s

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