Upon Reading Part One of The Legends Legacy titled "significance," I was moved by the conceptual notion that, "passionate leaders are willing to suffer." The journey that all of us take, commonly referred to as life, requires a knowledge of the battlefield, a perception of the world around us. My perception and understanding has always been: live to help others, very rarely exhibiting any focus on myself. I prefer it that way. In this lifestyle I have been privy to the sacrifices correlated with it, the ability to suffer and yet carry on with the concept that you have done something great. Sacrifices can come in terms of sleep, friendships, family connections, academics; regardless I carry on. The prime example I can offer up to this would be one of my experiences at Orientation;
This summer I was an Orientation Leader and one night after a long Day 1 of session there was a knock at my door around midnight, I went and opened it and a student whom was not one of my students stood there. I said hello and asked if everything was alright, and his response was that he needed someone to talk to, without hesitation I beckoned him in the room and we sat and he expressed to me that I seemed like an OL he could approach and talk to, therefore we had a conversation. He spilled his life story, he let everything out, held nothing back, how he wasn't sure how college would fit in the mix of all the "mess" he had for a life. Needless to say, with some heart ache and empathy, alongside some courage the conversation propelled and was long, not ending till about 3 am, when I had to be awake for 7. I sacrificed, and why? Significance. When he left my room, he turned and said to me, "I hope that I can be as great you someday Alec. Thank-you for tonight." My response, "You already are."
That student now has two jobs on campus, keeps his grades up, has some new best friends and is considering going Greek, and what did i do? I listened and gave a little advice. I suffered a little through exhaustion, and emotionally on a personal level; however I got to watch him grow.
"..like dancing naked on a table." What? Leadership isn't about perfection, but the ability to admit vulnerability and weakness and yet still manage to lead in the end. I am not perfect, by any means, I make many mistakes and I have my weaknesses; however, I do not let my weaknesses define me. I let my progress and my abilities define me while keeping my hindrances in mind. The world needs to understand, that people are not perfect, we as people do not know how to be, but we work with it. I am willing to stand on that table naked and dance, dance for all the world to see, why? Not in the hopes of comedic value or to provoke laughter, but in the hopes that someone gets on that table and dances too.
I can go the Distance, I have the ability. I have lead, I have organized and facilitated, I have "inspired," at the end of the day is it enough? I hope to grasp from GLAD the concepts behind my true potential, what can I do? What I can do for others. Hopefully, someday I will be able to ask with confidence, opposed to hesitation, will I have a Legacy? Did I make a difference?
"We'll all be remembered for something. The question is, for what?"
This was a really REALLY inspired and thought-provoking entry.
ReplyDeleteThe anecdote from when you were an OL was so moving, and it seems to me like, even though you helped that student, you got just as much out of that late night conversation as he did. You let yourself be vulnerable which allowed for the both of you to grow. Inspired.
I cannot wait for your next entry!
P.S. I was singing "Go the Distance" with the little GIF at the end there...BEAUtiful :)