The best you can be...

When I first sat down to think of a time when I was at my best, I'll admit, I had a hard time trying to think of a time when I was undoubtedly at my very best. I even asked my friends from home what they thought the best "me moment" was. The most common example that was brought up was my track record. Although I still get an adrenaline rush when I think of track, I don't believe this was my best moment. The next most common example was my academic ability, but again this example just didn't feel right.

Several more examples came up some being, my ability to solve the Rubik's cube, knowing hundreds of digits in pi, being able to double jump, etc. Again none of these seemed right. It almost made me feel ashamed knowing this is what people think are the best parts of me.

I was laying in bed looking at my bookshelf and then it clicked. I thought of a time I could believe was one of my best. On the shelf was a book that was given to me by my friend Kevin. Kevin was not well liked in our high school. His communication skills were poor and he thought he knew more then he actually did. He has a few weaknesses that a lot of people would easily exploit. When you got to know him though, you would find that his morals were sound, and that he was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet.

About every six months I would have a bonfire at my house. On one particular bonfire I decided I was going to invite Kevin, much to the chagrin of some of the other guests. I didn't mind, all of these people were my friends and they wouldn't hold a grudge. Kevin did end up coming, but he left early because he said he felt out of place.

About a year after that bonfire, I was sitting in my English teachers room finishing a test I had missed. My teacher came and sat by me and asked me what I thought of Kevin. I was a little thrown off, but I told her that I liked the guy. She gave me a look and then said "You may have saved his life, did you know that? I had no idea what she was talking about. She explained to me what Kevin had written in an essay. He had revealed to her that he was considering suicide. He said what kept him from it was me... his greatest friend in the entire world. She explained to me that he realized that when I invited him to my bonfire.

This helped to make me proud. I have never liked seeing people hurt, or getting made fun of. I have been known to start making fun of myself when i am around someone else who is being made fun of. It makes me feel good knowing that that person is no longer the target. I'll admit it, I am a rather cocky person and I have a very high self esteem and I can take being made fun of very well.

So I guess what I can take from this can be summed up in a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded."

So I have learned to help people when ever you can. Because you never know who you might save.