I came to South Africa with the hopes of changing someone’s life. Little did I know that the life that would be changed would be my own. For the past few days, the questions that have been repeated have been
- what do you want to do with your life?
- what is your legacy?
Those two questions, among numerous others have been questions that I have constantly asked myself but didn’t really have an answer to until this trip. Dr. Betty Siegel told us today that, “leaders are those who enroll others in their vision.” Truth is, I’ve had a vision, but I never considered myself a leader. I have constantly lived my life trying not to follow in the footsteps of others, particularly my family. What I realized today is that you can follow in another person’s footsteps and still leave your own footprints. Just like each UGA organization on campus has it’s own purpose and mission, each person has his or her own mission as well. As I sat down to write my own mission, it was easier than I had expected, it was simply a matter of putting it down on paper. While writing, my mission just kind of flowed from my pen to the paper and this is what I ended up with:
My mission: I want to be a person who goes beyond physical and self-manifested boundaries. Who travels the world spreading the notion of equality and perseverance. I want to be able to speak in front of thousands and listen to one. I want to be an example and an everlasting legacy of good works.
I think it was easy for most of us to realize what we have each been called to do. The only thing that could possibly stop us in living up to our individual missions is our fear of failure. What makes us different from other generations is that we were conditioned to be a “free generation,” one with no real problems facing us where everything else had been achieved except for perfection. How do we know what perfection is without experiencing failure or realizing our flaws? Kevin told us that in order to truly live your life you have to be willing to fail. If there’s no risk, then there is no gain. It’s just what is expected. Dr. Siegel said that, “young people are the message we send to a world we will not see” and I feel that it is up to our generation to create a world worth seeing. Overall, our time here in South Africa has been full of moments of self-reflection where each of us has asked ourselves…
What will it take for me to change the world?
-Taylor Stanley
- what do you want to do with your life?
- what is your legacy?
Those two questions, among numerous others have been questions that I have constantly asked myself but didn’t really have an answer to until this trip. Dr. Betty Siegel told us today that, “leaders are those who enroll others in their vision.” Truth is, I’ve had a vision, but I never considered myself a leader. I have constantly lived my life trying not to follow in the footsteps of others, particularly my family. What I realized today is that you can follow in another person’s footsteps and still leave your own footprints. Just like each UGA organization on campus has it’s own purpose and mission, each person has his or her own mission as well. As I sat down to write my own mission, it was easier than I had expected, it was simply a matter of putting it down on paper. While writing, my mission just kind of flowed from my pen to the paper and this is what I ended up with:
My mission: I want to be a person who goes beyond physical and self-manifested boundaries. Who travels the world spreading the notion of equality and perseverance. I want to be able to speak in front of thousands and listen to one. I want to be an example and an everlasting legacy of good works.
I think it was easy for most of us to realize what we have each been called to do. The only thing that could possibly stop us in living up to our individual missions is our fear of failure. What makes us different from other generations is that we were conditioned to be a “free generation,” one with no real problems facing us where everything else had been achieved except for perfection. How do we know what perfection is without experiencing failure or realizing our flaws? Kevin told us that in order to truly live your life you have to be willing to fail. If there’s no risk, then there is no gain. It’s just what is expected. Dr. Siegel said that, “young people are the message we send to a world we will not see” and I feel that it is up to our generation to create a world worth seeing. Overall, our time here in South Africa has been full of moments of self-reflection where each of us has asked ourselves…
What will it take for me to change the world?
-Taylor Stanley
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