Story time! Because I want you all to know how much of an impact 30 seconds of your time can make. I want to introduce Jerry link to HSRC. He was my high school track coach, and lives in MD, but I wanted him to see the semicolon posts from this weekend. You see, when I was 14 I had a plan. It was a great plan (at least I thought so). I was not going to be here the next day. I sat in my last class of the day, which was computer lab, and typed probably 200 times over and over "I want to die". My teacher walked by, I didn't look up to see if he saw, that was my one little test of fate. If he saw, and intervened, then maybe I wouldn't. He didn't. Class ended, and I walked to my locker which was across the hall from Mr. Link's classroom. He stood outside his classroom between every class and at the end of the day to just tell his students how great they were for whatever he knew they accomplished. He was so weird! Anyway, I put my backpack in my locker, I wasn't going to bring it home that day...I wouldn't be needing it anymore. Mr. Link, who didn't know me other than the kid that distracted one of his star athletes with all kinds of shinanigans, said "hey, come out for track tomorrow." I said "what? Why?" He said "Because I want you to."
Whaaaat??? Ok...no grown up had ever said they wanted me anywhere but "away". I went home, I sat in my room, and was so mad at him for making me question my plan! I had a plan! But I liked that feeling he gave me when he said he wanted me there. He gave me this ounce of worth that I hadn't known before. It was sooo weird! I got up, and I started to carry out my plan, and then I stopped. I wanted to go to track the next day. I waffled all night. I fought with all the lies that the illness of depression tells you, and tries with all its might to get you to believe. That was the first time I remember really trying to fight it. Then I got up the next day...and I had no clean clothes, because I didn't do laundry, because I wasn't going to need clean clothes (which oddly enough was part of the timing for the plan...laundry day is a great reason to kill yourself, right?? I had no will to do it anymore.) I wore dirty clothes to school that day.
And so the story goes...he got me to every day after that for quite some time just by being his amazing self. I quit track that year...alcohol and drugs won. But my locker was still across the hall from Mr. link...and he continued to be kind and caring (except the one time he jokingly told me I suck and I yelled at him that I never forget that 😜..,I was a fun kid!)
The point of the story is, that first day...he took 5 seconds of his day to reach out to a kid that I'm sure he knew was not ok. 5 seconds can change someone's life...5 seconds can SAVE someone's life. He cared, that's all it took. There is good in everyone, sometimes it's harder to find...but it's there. I'm a firm believer that when people are the hardest to love, that's when they need it the most. That's been true for me.
So many of you took 5 seconds out of your day to show your racing world that you care, that's so huge! You changed people's day, you may have changed their week. You definitely changed mine! You educated with love. THANK YOU!!
He is coming to relay Raleigh 70.3 with Candi and I in June, and asked if he could semicolon. How special it will be for him to show off something he had such a huge hand in creating! I can't wait to race with him! Not only do I firmly believe I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be a runner or know any of you without his hand in my life. I did my first 5k years after high school for him, and well we know what happens after the first one... 😉
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