The High School Assignment that Changed my Life
You never know the impact you have
It was one of those cheesy high-school exercises that made you roll your eyes and pray for the bell to ring. When my dance team instructor had us get a pen and a piece of paper out of our backpacks, I imagined we were in for some aspirational “write your goals for the semester” exercise.
I didn’t know the next half hour would change my life.
It’s been nearly 30 years, but the memory of what happened that afternoon is as crisp as a bright blue sky on a gorgeous Fall afternoon.
“I want everyone to write this quote at the top of your page,” my teacher said. “You make the world a brighter place just by being in it.”
In some phrase or fashion, she instructed us to write about someone that quote reminded us of. I don’t remember if she put limits on who it had to be about, like it couldn’t be a family member, or it had to be someone at the school.
All I know is that I wrote about my principal’s administrative assistant. I had a rebellious streak during my senior year, which often landed me in her company. Acting out in class, lingering too long in the hallways, and laughing at inappropriate times, I was in the “zero f-s given stage.”
