A man was running on the beach, and noticed ahead of him a young boy throwing something into the ocean. As he got closer he noticed that the boy was throwing starfish into the ocean. The man asked,
“What are you doing that for?”
The youth replied,
“I’m throwing starfish back into the ocean. The tide is going out and if they don’t get back in, they will die!
“Child, can’t you see the hundreds of starfish along the beach? Don’t you know that there hundreds of miles of beach? You can’t possibly make a difference.”
Then the youth bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean.
“I made a difference to that one!”
This past summer, while sitting on the Metro transit train in Washington D.C., a number of Metro riders began throwing questions at me…
“Yo man, whats up with dat blue jacket!?”
“Excuse me officer, could you tell those children to pipe down?”
With a smile on my face, I answered their questions, but then had to quick jump off to transfer lines. One day, just as I was used to, a finger tapped me on the shoulder and a voice asked, “Excuse me sir, but could you tell me about your jacket?” I once again explained, but instead of leaving the Metro I stayed on because she asked me to talk with her. I sat and listened. Germaine is from Cameroon in Africa. She told me of how she lost her father at a young age, her family was poor and yet she still managed to come to the United States 5 years ago. She came for medical school and even though she knew zero English, she was still taking regular undergraduate courses in English. This past year, she received a full ride scholarship to John Hopkins. Its one of the top medical schools. But, she isn’t becoming a doctor for the title, money or prestige- she is taking it straight back to Cameroon to help her sick community. She doesn’t make inspirational speeches, she hasn’t made any scientific breakthroughs and she hasn’t won any athletic trophies. Instead of trying to do something she isn’t as capable of, she invests her time in what she can offer. Germaine makes a difference because she is who she is, for others.
Well, sounds like I will never make a difference, I can’t be a doctor- I barely passed Chem. 1015! But no, that’s not the point. What Germaine did, just as many other people before her have done, is focused on what she can do and used it for the betterment of others. Time spent thinking about what we can’t do, or who we aren’t is time taken away from being who we are, and giving what we can.
But a step beyond just being who you are, we need to be the best version of who we are.
I’m no Martin Luther, or Shawn Harper or Spiderman- but I am Kirby Schmidt. When I asked some of my friends to describe, who I was, they said I was: hardworking, motivated, energetic, caring and service oriented… Oh and they said that I was kind of a dork. When I think about it, I would say that those are some core beliefs that make up the best version of who I am- dork included. Do our daily actions reflect who we really are? Each of us can identify at least one time on our own lives where our actions or decision didn’t reflect the best version of who we really are. Have you ever had someone say to you, “I can’t believe you said that, did that, acted like that?!”… When I think back to times like that; Yeah, I can’t believe it either. That’s not who I am, or anything that I believe in- it eats me up to think about it. The thing is friends, we have all made mistakes that don’t reflect who we are, but we still have today and the rest of our lives to be who we really are for others and the world.
In the summer of 2007, I went to my very first FFA camp. I had never been to any other type of camp, but this was the best! I had a blast, I made new friends and above all I wasn’t afraid to be my energetic, motivated, dorky self. Amidst all of the crazy fun that happens at camp, like the Rec. directors Brand Lanoue and Kayla Pearson chasing each other around banging pots, pans and bells- or my own secret scheme to cover the first person to fall asleep in our room with shaving cream, I noticed that one particular girl was not. She sat by herself at lunch, during flag raising ceremonies she walked alone and was MIA during Rec. time. Immediately, I got frustrated,
“How can someone not be having a good time at camp? Should I tell the state officers, an advisor?”
Just talk...
The conversation started slow, but after a while of establishing some common ground and a couple jokes, we had a better conversation. Later on in the week she resumed to her shy-self. Finally, it was banquet time. I wasn’t sure what exactly this was either, but my friends told me to do it because it would be fun. It turns out; I had to leave camp early. Just before I left, I found the girl and encouraged her to give banquet committee a shot; it could be a lot of fun for her. I then packed up and went back to Marshall.I think back and I can say that in those moments, I was one of the better versions of who I really am. Yeah, my friends thought I was weird, but I can’t deny what goes through my heart and mind when I see someone alone, or in a bad mood. I just need to give them what I can. I care, and I give them my time… But it wasn’t a while until I heard back from her.
Making a difference doesn’t happen because you can quote someone’s famous words, or imitate the actions you saw someone else do successfully. It comes straight from here. It comes from being not only who you are, but the best version of who you are. Being who you are for others. It wasn’t until last fall, about 2 years after camp that a good friend of mine came up to me and said, “Hey Kirby, you wouldn’t believe the great story I heard. I was at a chapter banquet and the chapter president talked about how some guy named Kirby came up to her at camp and encouraged her to get involved. Did you know that she was on the banquet committee?
I couldn’t believe it, all I did was talk to her for like 15 minutes total!
How could I have possibly made a difference?
How can we possibly make a difference?!!
Each day there is someone, some cause, something out there that is waiting for you. They aren’t waiting for you teachers, your parents, your other friends because who they really need is you. You are enough. Germaine, despite her setbacks, is where she is because that it what her life is about. Serving others, especially the people of her native country. Finally that starfish story is hitting me. When I think back to my time at FFA camp, even though there we many opportunities for me to hang out with my friends or make 20 new friends, instead I focused on the one thing I could do. Just give one person a chance. A chance can make a change. What is 10 minutes out of our day, after school, on the weekend? To you it may be nothing, but to the world out there, waiting for you to step up and be who you really are- it makes a difference. Whatever it is in your life, do it not only for yourself but for others.
My life, well…I’m just trying to be a better version of me for you.
