I guess this is the story of how one man changed my life, and not in the sappy or sad kind of way; but in a way that makes me strive to be strong and independent. I haven't quit thinking about him since, and what's ironic, I only was around this man for about four incomplete days and he changed my life so much.
Just so I don't overstep my boundaries we will just call him SP.
During the 2012 Alaska FFA State Convention was when I met SP. SP is a national officer and came to our convention like officers have done before and will do after, but something was different about him. See, I worked two jobs, and would only go to the convention after work, allowing me to help out during the evenings. One evening, after some students made bad decisions, I sat and discussed with one girl about what was going on, and the conversation/ordeal lasted about six hours total. During a part of that, SP walked in, squatted down next to the auction box, and started searching for candy. Finally getting a break from the "situation" I asked SP in a very serious note; "'SP', How are you doing?" and he paused momentarily, took a second, and said; "ya know, I don't feel like I did so good today." I was baffled. I wanted him to answer honestly, but to often do I receive "I'm good" answers from people, especially from national officers, and I was totally prepared to bug him until he was honest. However, I quickly recovered and asked him what he meant. His reply confused me even a little more; "Well, ~sigh~ I don't feel like I did so good during the workshop today." Still baffled I was dead set on cheering him up because I could see HIM, not a facade, or mask, it was just SP.
In reply to his doubts, I proceeded to remind him that he is used to working with larger groups of kids (about 200), and then we threw him into a workshop with about twenty kids. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE! When you work with a large group, the students will play off of each other, reaction wise and such.. when you are working with twenty students, they are solely playing off of YOU, giving you more influence than expected. It is hard to work with smaller groups. Anyway, after SP heard me out, and I told him he was amazing and that he has "got this", he looked at me, smiled, thanked me, and we both went back to our previous tasks. After this conversation, however, EVERY TIME I saw him, I would make sure I had his attention and ask him how he was. The last night I gave him a card, in which I wrote the famous quote by Nelson Mendela;
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| This is a man to look up to and admire - research him.. What was ironic, was that SP used part of this during his Key Note address at our banquet. Anyway, the reason I am writing is about the "greenhouse" Idea...
The day SP flew out, a few of the past and present State officers got together and went to Hatchers Pass. In hatchers, we discussed our fears, hopes, dreams, anything important, and SP taught me that if you are going to be talking about something, make it important, otherwise why talk about it at all? We were discussing our insecurities when SP told us a story of a past team member who struggled when she had to leave her "foundation" of people behind in order to move on in life, and he told us to build our own greenhouses based off of what she did.. See, this girl decided that she wasn't going to rely on People anymore, and started to surround herself with things that inspired her, and made her want to chase her dreams. [books, movies, songs, stories, quotes, etc. THINGS that inspire].
The image SP gave us was this; You are a seed trying to grow to the best of your abilities, and you MUST have a safe-haven (Greenhouse) in order to grow properly. You need a greenhouse to keep the heat in, the storms at bay, and the problems of this world ONLY at your doorstep. HOWEVER, this does not mean you don't need human interaction! We must swap ideas and words of encouragement with PEOPLE. Think of it as if they hold a piece of wood that you have a perfect place for on your greenhouse, but you need them to give you that piece. Odds are you have a piece that'll fit their greenhouse as well. The goal is to be independent, and the best you can be.
Now, I must go, but I'll post some of my "greenhouse" items ASAP.
Comments, Questions, Concerns??
~ God Bless
Lydia S
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