Sunday Night With John: Thank You For Understanding

My jacket is off as it’s the breakout session, we are discussing choices, and as I finish I asked, "does anyone have any questions?" A boy no older than 14 raises his hand and says, “I don’t have a question, but I do have a statement, can I share that?” Before we get to his statement, let's set up the events leading up to this young man finding the courage to share in front of a group of his peers.

I just finished lunch with a group of 7 kids who were gracious enough to come over and have lunch with my wife and I after my keynote. Other kids and adults stopped by to thank me for sharing my story and asked for a business card, a post card, or sticker. I also found out that on their schedule for my keynote slot, it just said "Derryberry."  Everyone was confused about what the "Derryberry" activity could be. Some of them thought it was a "Derryberry" ice cream break and other thought they were going to play some kind of game called the "Derryberry." They jokingly said, who wouldn’t want to play a game called Derryberry? I’m not planning on going into game design yet, but I’ll keep the idea. 

The first session on Friday went great.  Kids laughed, they volunteered, and they were excited to chat with me after. All signs pointing to the enjoyment of my presentation, but did my message hit home? Did I have them thinking about emotional health in a different way? Did I have them thinking about how to support people better through emotionally traumatic events? Did I have them understanding that those difficult to express and feel emotions do not have to be isolating? These questions always race through my mind after a talk. I guess this is what happens when you design a talk that doesn't tell people what to do, but asks them to figure what my story means to them. I have done enough talks over the last 10 plus years to trust my process completely. But I’m always looking for confirmation.  We all do.  We all want validation that what were doing is making a difference in our families, friends, co-workers, and costumers lives. 

Now I must return to the the kid who asked to share a statement.  He was wearing a bright yellow shirt, sat up a little straighter in his chair, clears his throat, makes great eye contact with me, and says “Thank you for understanding.” And there it is, a kid brave enough to say a very short, profound, and powerful statement. That was all the confirmation I needed to know that I made a different today.