I spent this past summer teaching and leading high school kids from across the country as a Team Leader for the Lead America organization. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and the people I met will always be remembered. I was reminded of just how close I became with my co-workers this morning when I woke up to find a text from my buddy Mike Hilty which mentioned that because of hearing a certain song he wished he was with his fellow LeadUr's. It is amazing to me the type of bonds we can form with others over such a short period of time. What is it about our nature that allows us to become so personal with a complete stranger in a matter of minutes.
I find this all the time
when working up at Sundance. Part of my job in the deli is to meet and greet customers. I love it. I love being able to just talk to people and find out where they are from, why they are visiting Utah, and what they do. It completely fascinates me. But what is most interesting is that we, myself included, are willing to share certain information about ourselves with others whom we have not previously met.
Alright back on track, didn't mean to hit a tangent there, I guess I will save that for another blog. Anyway, back to the summer of shenanigans. So I read this text this morning and I just thought how grateful I am to have been a part of LeadU this past summer. I am often asked "What did you do?" or "Where were you this past summer, I haven't seen you in a while?" When I tell people that I was teaching high school kids across the country they are always intrigued and I want to believe they are thinking 'Why would someone so young be teaching high schoolers and what could he possibly be teaching them?' The question that quickly follows after I answer their first question is generally "What did you teach them?" And my reply is always an emphatic "TO BE AWESOME!" That always gets a few laughs, but then I explain to them that I really was teaching and helping these students to be awesome. It all really depends on your definition of what awesome is. I had the opportunity to help these students further develop the leadership skills they already possessed and discover some skills they might not have known existed in them. So in essence (and in my opinion) I was teaching and helping them to be awesome.
Alright back on track, didn't mean to hit a tangent there, I guess I will save that for another blog. Anyway, back to the summer of shenanigans. So I read this text this morning and I just thought how grateful I am to have been a part of LeadU this past summer. I am often asked "What did you do?" or "Where were you this past summer, I haven't seen you in a while?" When I tell people that I was teaching high school kids across the country they are always intrigued and I want to believe they are thinking 'Why would someone so young be teaching high schoolers and what could he possibly be teaching them?' The question that quickly follows after I answer their first question is generally "What did you teach them?" And my reply is always an emphatic "TO BE AWESOME!" That always gets a few laughs, but then I explain to them that I really was teaching and helping these students to be awesome. It all really depends on your definition of what awesome is. I had the opportunity to help these students further develop the leadership skills they already possessed and discover some skills they might not have known existed in them. So in essence (and in my opinion) I was teaching and helping them to be awesome.
I guess I just can't really explain in words my feelings about the whole experience. It's one of those things where you really have to experience it for yourself to grasp the amazing motivational and inspirational power of what transpired. I love and respect my LeadU co-workers and students more than they will ever know. I can't tell them thank you enough and I know I don't keep in great contact with them but their images are forever burned in my heart. I will always remember you all.
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