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Who You Are Makes A Difference (continued)
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 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 difference.
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