Impact

I remember sitting in my high school gymnasium with 500 others watching a young man, only 25 years of age, on the verge of tears while he told us all a story about how he killed his three best friends in a drunk driving accident. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to sit through, but I still can remember it to this day. The reason it was so memorable was because it was so genuine and raw. He was not trying to sell us anything and he was definatley not putting on a show for us. Instead, he was telling a big part of why he is who he is today. I remember him explaining the whole evening leading up to the crash but what hit me the most was his description of waking up in the car and seeing that all three of this friends were lifeless and not responding. I cannot even imagine the panic he went through. He went on to tell us he had to go to jail for quite some time and now he is paying off some of his time by talking to young people like us. You could tell from his nervousness that public speaking was not what he thought he would be doing with his life, especially about this, but he didn't have an option. Even through his nerves I still think that to this day it was one of the best speeches I have ever sat through. On more of a personal level, I made the decision to not consume alcohol before I turned 21 but it still scared the crap out of me that someone else could be on the road who is intoxicated. It also confirmed my thoughts of when I did decide to drink after I was 21 that I needed to be so careful about being aware of my alcohol consumption and also on if I was going to drive. I know for other students in my school the idea of drinking and driving hit very close to home so it was very impactful.
Another speech which was very impactful was the presentation of Invisible Children, a non-profit org, that comes to our campus every year. This organization is on the mission to rescue child soldiers who were abducted from their families and forced into becoming soldiers for the cruel and unjust leader, Joseph Koney. This movement was all started by three very unsuspecting young men from California who had a dream of film making and decided to head to Africa to see the world. While they were there they learned a lot of terrible information about the corrupt situation in Uganda and decided to bring this information back to the States. Since then they have established an organization that has surpassed anything any of them could have ever imagined. They are changing things, and I get the chance to be a part of it. The reason I am so informed is because the people working with and working for Invisible Children are so well informed. It's so exciting to be a part of a movement that is comprised of the younger generation and it's not something just thrown together or unorganized. No, instead they are so organized, professional, inventive, positive and they ARE making such a huge difference.

My question is, what kind of speaker are you more likely to respond positively to? Someone who is more factual or someone who is more personal? Why do you think that is?

Groups Build Character

Ever since I can remember I have been in group/team situation. Whether it's on the basketball or volleyball court, in the classroom, problem solving teams or within friends. I have been a part of many effective teams and I have also been a part of some that don't work so well...

The first thing that pops in my mind when it comes to a team situation that didn't work was my sophomore year of basketball. I had just been brought up to the Varsity team and I was more than excited to play. There was a very large group of upperclassmen who each had a very...unique idea of what leadership was. One of the girls on the team used an extreme scare tactic. You knew not to get in her way and that everyone was scared of what she might do if she did. She had a horrible attitude, got away with everything, yet still was one of the captains. It was a frustrating situation because she wasn't following the athletic code, she had terrible work ethic and was not always the nicest to the rest of the team. Another girl on the team was a control-er. She like things her way and she would be quick to correct you if you messed up. She and I were fighting for the same position so let's just say she was pretty hard on me. It was good because I toughed up but not in an encouraging sort of way. On top of these two colorful characters we had a lot of passive people who stood by and watched many unjust things happen. I was quick to realize that I had to be a quite leader. It was hard because there were many things I wanted to say but I knew I had to also earn respect from the rest of the girls. We will just say that I learned quite a bit.

On the flip side, this past summer I was a part of group of people who had a vision and a passion to start a college ministry in our church. It started as an idea and me and three of my best friends sat down all through the school year brainstorming and planning and watching this vision become a tangible reality. We asked three of our close guys friends to be a part of the a leadership team and they were all very excited. This was the beginning of the most amazing and unexpected summer ever. We had high hopes but we had no clue what God was going to do with what was once just an idea. To sum up what is quite an elaborate and exciting story (I LOVE talking about it!) we consistently had 50+ college-aged students coming together, discussing who Christ is, feeling comfortable to ask honest questions and we literally became a close community of people by the middle of the summer. The connection and respect and leadership we had on our team made this whole summer so much easier. We were willing and wanting to pick up each other's slack when needed and we each took so much ownership that we wanted to see things run smoothly. It was for one, a giant leap of faith and one of the most visual ways I have seen how faithful God truly is, and it was such a learning experience for us to watch something tiny grow into something so much more.

How have you grown from a bad group situation? Have those bad situations helped make your next group or team experience a more positive one?