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>>>Who You Are Makes a Difference
>>>A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high
>>>school by telling them the difference they each made. She called
>>>each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told
>>>each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she
>>>presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold
>>>letters,
>>>which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference." Afterwards the teacher
>>>decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact
>>>recognition
>>>would have on a community. She gave each of the students three
>>>more
>>>ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this
>>>acknowledgment
>>>ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who
>>>honored
>>>whom and! report back to the class in about a week.
>>>One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a
>>>nearby
>>>company and honored him for helping him with his career planning.
>>>He
>>>gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him
>>>two
>>>extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on
>>>recognition,
>>>and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a
>>>blue
>>>ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can
>>>acknowledge a
>>>third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then
>>>please
>>>report back to me and tell me what happened." Later that day the
>>>junior
>>>executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way,
>>>as
>>>being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told
>>>him
>>>that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The
>>>junior
>>>executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue
>>>ribbon and
>>>would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss
>>>said,
>>>"Well, sure." The boss seemed very surprised.
>>> The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on
>>>his
>>>boss's jacket above his he art. As he gave him the last extra
>>>ribbon, he
>>>said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra one and
>>>pass
>>>it on by honoring somebody else. The young boy who first gave me
>>>the
>>>ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this
>>>recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."
>>>That
>>>night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down.
>>>He
>>>said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my
>>>office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he
>>>admired
>>>me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine.
>>>He
>>>thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that
>>>says
>>>"Who I Am Makes a Difference" on my jacket above my heart. He
>>>gave me
>>>an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor
>>>As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I
>>>would
>>>honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor
>>>you.
>>>My days are really hectic and when come home I don't pay a lot of
>>>attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good
>>>enough
>>>grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow
>>>tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know
>>>that
>>>you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the
>>>most
>>>important person in my life.You're a great kid and I love
>>>you!"The
>>>startled boy started to sob and sob, and he wouldn't stop crying.
>>>His
>>>whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his
>>>tears,
>>>"Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you
>>>and Mom
>>>explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me.
>>>I was
>>>going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just
>>>didn't
>>>think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think
>>>I
>>>need it after all. His father walked upstairs and found a
>>>heartfelt
>>>letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, "Mom
>>>and
>>>Dad."
>>>The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a
>>>grouch but
>>>made sure to let all his employees know that they made a
>>>difference. The
>>>junior executive helped several other young people with career
>>>planning
>>>and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in
>>>his
>>>life...one being the boss's son. And the young boy and his
>>>classmates
>>>learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make a difference.
 hina-25 · Sat Oct 08, 2005 @ 09:10pm · 4 Comments |
