On his first day of school, a small, 7-year-old boy nervously waited for his school bus in rural Connecticut. As he entered the bus clutching his schoolbag, you could clearly see that his left sock was a bright blue and his right sock canary yellow.
When kids remarked that he made an obvious error, he shrugged.
“Uh uh. Not a mistake,” he’d answer.
“Why?” they asked. “Why not a mistake?”
“Just not.”
And that’s how it went. Year after year. NEVER A MATCHING SOCK. It became his trademark.
Flash ahead 11 years.
The little boy is now 18, 6′,2″, captain of the swim team, a starter on the championship water polo team, and successfully started “Meatless Mondays” at his high school. His goal is to help save the planet.
In all those years he never wore matching socks.
When he wrote his college essay, he attributed the start of his becoming a leader to his decision to never match his socks.
When I asked him why he decided to do that, he said, “Well, it started out that I really didn’t want to bother finding the matching sock in the sock-drawer. Then I kind of liked wearing whatever I wanted. Now, I believe that we should all have the right to be who we are, as long as we’re not hurting others. Why should anyone dictate how others should live? Why should my socks have to match if I don’t want them to? To be a leader it is important to really listen to others. It’s not my place to tell someone how to live, but to try and get everyone to work together for the good of the team.” He is pro-choice (abortion, LGBTQ, and racial equality).
I love and respect this boy, now a determined young man.
I wish I had his instincts and courage when I was younger.
But, no complaints.
He’s my daughter’s son, and he learned from the best.
Thanks for reading. Have a thankful Thanksgiving.
Art
#Leaders, #Courage, #Pro-choice
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