Who you are makes a difference!

A NYC teacher decided to honor her h.s. seniors by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each how they made a difference to her and the class.

Then she gave each of them a blue ribbon with gold letters. It read, "WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE"Afterwards she decided to do a class project to see the kind of impact recognition has on a community.

She gave each student three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they would report the results to the class in about a week.One boy honored a jr. executive in a nearby company for helping him with his career planning.

Then, he gave the executive the extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going.

Then please report back to me and tell me what happened. Later that day the jr. executive went in to see his boss, who was grouchy. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.The boss seemed very surprised. The jr. executive asked him if he would accept a blue ribbon. His surprised boss said sure. So the jr. executive put it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else. The young boy who gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people.

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the jr. executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius.

Then he put this blue ribbon that says 'Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I’d honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay much attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades and your room being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Next to your mother, you are the most important person to me. You're a great kid and I love you!"

The startled boy started sobbing uncontrollably. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I know you do. This is the happiest day I've known. "The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference.

The jr. executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference it his life...one being the boss' son. And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make a difference. So just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn't have received this in the first place. Remember that! Injustice Breeds Destruction (Justicia Es La Causa)!