You make a difference

July 12, 2003

You Make A Difference

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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 boss seemed very surprised.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 junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his

boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he

said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon 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.

magine. 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 I 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 couldn'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!

You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...

not to two people or to two-hundred.

As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next

message.

If you want, you can send it to all of the people who mean something to

you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most.

Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are

important or you wouldn't have received this in the first

place.

Remember that I gave you a blue ribbon.

Forward this to someone else who makes a difference.

I had several to send too

July 12, 2003