Subtle Influence

I want to start by telling you a story from April of my freshman year in high school. I was sitting in the Memorial Union on the Iowa State campus with some members of my FFA chapter after the barbecue during State Leadership Conference. I had been on the phone calling some family and friends about how I did in the Creed Speaking contest earlier that day, and the last person I needed to talk to was my dad. As I was getting off the phone with him, I ended by saying, “Thanks Dad, have a good night, I love you.” I didn’t realize that everyone had quieted down and was listening to me as I wrapped up the conversation. Once I put the phone down and looked up at everyone, a person in the group kind of laughed and said, “Why did you tell your dad that you loved him?” I answered by saying, “I don’t know when it is going to be the last time I talk to him, so I am going to tell the people I care about what they mean to me when I have the chance.” Needless to say, everyone got pretty quiet, and no one else said anything to me about it.

Now, this isn’t the part of the story I want to focus on today. Rather, I am going to look at something that happened a few weeks later because of that story. I was sitting in the lunch room back in school when a senior walked over and asked if I had a few minutes. I got up, and we walked out into the hall where I was asked if it was alright if the story I shared with you could be used as part of the upcoming baccalaureate speech. This senior then told me that what I said really meant a lot to them, and it changed their perspective on how they live their life. The following week I decided to make the trip back to school and attend the baccalaureate service just to see what was going to be said. When that senior got up on stage to give the speech, they ended by telling the story. The closing line was, “Make sure when you leave tonight to tell your mom and your dad, tell your grandma and your grandpa that you love them and tell the people that are special to you what they mean.” Needless to say, I watched most of the mothers, grandmothers, and quite a few of the dads and grandfathers walk out of the auditorium drying tears from their eyes.

For me this was a moving experience for two reasons. First, I was able to see the impact I had on someone’s life, and how because of that, they were able to share it with others in hopes of changing their lives. Secondly, it caused me to realize people are always watching you, and that even some of the simplest things can make a huge difference. Now, I am not trying to toot my own horn here, but I am hoping that if you take one thing from this, it is that every day, you do things that make a difference in the lives of someone around you. Even though you will probably never know it happened, YOU have influence in the lives of others. Every day you are making a difference in the lives of the people around you, so how are you going to live now that you know this?

Cole Moody

Northeast State Vice President