"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple"
Barry Switzer
I love this quote. If we stick with the baseball analogy, I think it's pretty safe to say that we are all born in different places on the field. Some are born on third place and some are born in the dugout. We don't necessarily have a choice of what position we are born into, but how you use your position is what matters. If you are born on third base, you have a head start. You can either view it as a personal win that you made it to third base or as an opportunity to support your team. If you're born in the dugout, you can see yourself as unimportant or less significant when the truth is that the team needs you too. You see things from the bench that could put you ahead when it's your turn at bat.
I guess why I liked it so much is that many times people describe the youth I get to work with as "behind" or "less fortunate" or whatever. But the truth is that for the most part, they are strong, smart, charming people of good character who are working and waiting for their chance to shine. Some of them were born in the dugout. Some were born on the bleachers just watching the game. Others were born next at bat.
I think I'm probably one of those people who was born on the field somewhere. And a lot of the youth I work with are in the dugout or maybe not even on the team yet, but my job right now is to set things up so that when they do take the field, they get to show what they are made of.
One of our previous campers that interned this summer told me he will take my job one day. To be honest, I love my job but it's his when he's ready. That's what we are working for. Instead of thinking highly of ourselves for our fortunate positions, we are strategically using our influence on the game to help the rest of our team get a chance to play. It's not about just me or just you. It's about all of us working together for the good of the whole. That's the only way we can win.
Maybe I've been in Clarkston too long and have just adapted the collectivistic culture that dominates this place, but I think we could all afford to tone back the individualism at least a little bit and think about how we are part of so much more. Yes, students should strive for good grades and we should be the best we can be...and we can help our younger siblings with their homework and use our God-given gifts and talents to bless each other.
