Challenge

Last week i had the pleasure of attending a conference/workshop on youth at risk - working in the violence and gang culture.
It was a very eye opening experience. there were three key note speakers, each one as good as the next. The first was a gang and violence expert, very analytical and numbers and statistics. The second was raw emotion. Darrell Scott, his daughter was the first person killed at the Columbine high school shooting. the third was very amusing. the speaker had many learning disabilities, adult adhd, etc, but overcame all to become one of the top clinical psychologists in North america.
It was the second speaker, Darrell Scott that really got me. It was a very emotional presentation. He took his daughters tragedy and turned it into a worldwide phenomenon that has now affected and helped hundreds of thousands of kids worldwide.
His daughters name was Rachel. He created a program called Rachel's challenge. The gist of it is Rachel felt that if every person that she came in contact with could do one nice thing for one other person, be kind and compassionate, it would start a chain reaction. She wrote about this just before she was murdered. (rachelschallenge.org)
She wrote herself a code of conduct that she tried to live by and as she was a 17 year old girl, the words that came from her were beyond astounding. It is a shame knowing that they two that killed her were the examples of what she was trying to change.
The presentation from her father was a very raw and emotional talk. A lot of his presentation was done through news reports happening the day of and interviews. It really got to me.
I want to put forth the same challenge to everyone who reads this, whether you are a student or sidekicks member, or just someone who enjoys reading my ramblings.
Look for the good in people. Accept everyone with a smile, no matter what they are like. Be kind. Always. Have compassion and be honest.
If we all try that little bit more, maybe we can change things, prevent tragedies and start a chain reaction of our own.

These are the ramblings in my head.
Dusty