AMAZING

Sooo last week I headed, reluctantly I might add, to my language impairment class. My teacher, bless his heart, means well, but is a bit on the boring side.

I enjoy the material to an extent, I find it intriguing,

BUT
not the biggest fan of attending the class.

No worries Dad, I do, but its not so fun.

ANYWAYS

While walking to class I remembered something!

We would be having a guest speaker, so when I sat down I became perky and excited

to hear what this nice lady in front me was about to say

And let me tell you, I was NOT dissapointed.

Her name was Sylvia Allen, she is a principle at one of the elementary schools here in the Utah Valley and has also been a teacher and vice principle throughout her working years.

She began by telling us a story...

There once were 2 families, excited and packed to pick up their lives and move to Germany.

There was no real reason for the move, it was a life decision, one they made as a family.

Well, on the plane headed to Germany the two families talked and talked about what their

new lives in Germany were going to be like.

They couldn't wait to immerse themselves in the culture, language, and style of living.

Then...something unexpected happened

The pilot comes over the intercom and said that the plane would need to land in Holland

and that it would never be able to finish its flight to Germany...ever

As you can imagine the families were shocked and upset...but nothing could be done

They would need to accept their new change of direction, or forced to be unhappy forevermore.
One family understood that their fate had changed and Holland would soon have to be considered their home so they tried hard to keep a positive attidtude. Then they landed and saw the amazing fields of flowers, beautiful blue skies, clolors upon colors, and a quaint country that offered its own beauty and culture like that of Germany. They now accepted their new home and went off with excitement about their new life adventure and lived happily ever after

The second family, however, did not have such an attitude. They groaned and compalined about the new change in their life and never accepted this different, yet still wonderful adventure. They saw the beaty but would not acknowledge it, they smelled the flowers but turned up their noses, they were not happy and vowed to never be...all because Holland was not Germany.

What does this teach us??
Life is full of unexpected curcumstances and happenings. Changes in plans, hopes, dreams, situations, and list goes on. It is all about what you make of these changes that makes life beautiful.

She began with this story because she then told us about the moment she found out her son was handicapped...severely. She said, like the families, she had to recognize and accept the "change of direction" she was now face with. She said it was all about the help and support she received that made all the difference.

She then continued on in her lecture to speak about her son and the people that were ADVOCATES for him when she was so emotionally drained to be one herself. Then she talked about the children SHE advocated for, children and families she gave hope to because of her "never-give-up" attitude.

This all my seem pointless, random, or even odd to you, but my point is that this woman reminded me, as I sat in a simple hour and a half class, why I want to be a speech pathologist/teacher. Instead of worrying about my midterms, quizzes, or assignments...stressing about not understanidng something like I think I should, what matters is the difference I get to make.

I want to be an advocate

I want to change a child's life

I want to put a smile on a face that normally doesn't have one

I want to make a difference

I want to be a positive ifluence

I want to show that I care and will work HARD for whomever I am advocating for

I want to give a child a new hope

I want EVERY child to know they are special, unique, loved, royal, and able to accomplish absolutley anything they want to.

I want them to know that being different isn't wrong, its brave

I want to be an ADVOCATE

and I will work everyday to make sure every one of these goals is obtained :) Thank you Sylvia for your inspiration and thank you BYU for finally helping me figure out why im in college!