RetiRing AddRess: Riley PAgett 28 Believe <strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>2011</strong>
Etiring AddrEss: rilEy pAgEtt “braVe lIKe You” See this scar? It was a cold, cold day in Alaska (picture of Alaska) and my uncle, dad, cousins and I were fishing during a men’s trip a few summers ago. A seventy pound halibut, (picture of halibut) no it was bigger than that, (enlarged picture of halibut) nearly bit off my finger (picture of finger appears in fish’s mouth) and almost drug me into the freezing water with him. What about this one? Motorcycle accident (picture of motorcycle). No, no, it wasn’t just any motorcycle. It was, at the time, a brand new, bright red, 2002 Honda CBR600 (new motorcycle picture). It had all the bells and whistles and I was ready to ride (picture of me). I had just hit 120 miles per hour and as I made the first turn around the Eiffel tower, (picture of Eiffel tower) it threw me off (picture of me scared) and landed on top of me. No one found me for three days. See this one? I was in a desert (picture of desert). It was 147 degrees and I was minding my own business, practicing my karate skill (picture of me in karate uniform) when out of nowhere appeared a rattlesnake (picture of rattlesnake). I mean a ninja (erase picture of rattlesnake and insert ninja). That’s how it happened! No really! I’ve got the scar to prove it! When I was younger, I loved showing of my scars and telling scar stories to anyone who would listen. Sometimes, I may or may not have embellished what really happened just to appear braver or more courageous. That halibut was really just a measly paper cut, the motorcycle – a red mongoose bicycle and that ninja might have just been a fender bender. For some reason, scars made me feel like Braveheart, Popeye or the Spartans on 300. It’s like with each scar came a badge of courage. They were proof of danger, adventure and risk. As I grew older, it wasn’t quite as easy to feel brave. Suddenly, being the hero wasn’t quite so simple. Risking it all, standing up for what you believe in and fighting danger becomes unpopular, uncommon and ‘not my job’! Letting our fears take over becomes an everyday occurrence. Most of the people around us sit back and it becomes easy to go through the motions, thinking that someone else will take charge and be brave for us, for our family, for this nation. Even I do it. We refuse to act with courage, fail to be courageous for ourselves and as a result we aren’t able to be brave for those around us. But, I’ve learned along the way that in order to be courageous for others; we must first be courageous for ourselves. For Chance, being courageous meant facing his fears. For two years, Chance had sought to be a chapter officer of the Sullivan <strong>FFA</strong> Chapter in Illinois and for two years he had been defeated. Each spring, at the chapter banquet, he faced rejection as names other than his were called to serve as chapter officers. You can imagine the things running through Chance’s mind by this point. “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never win.” “Just give up.” Fear set in. You know the kind of fear I’m talking about. When our knees start shaking, sweat is dripping down our face, we almost forget to breath and when we start believing those voices. That kind of fear makes us feel like it’s all unconquerable, but it’s not. When this past spring rolled around, Chance, now a senior, again applied for chapter office. He filled out the application, went through the interview and worked tirelessly to make sure he was ready. The big night came. The banquet was finally here and Chance hoped for a different outcome than the two years before. After the awards were given, the brisket was eaten and 29 Believe <strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>2011</strong> the slideshow had played, the time had come for the new chapter officers to be announced. Instantly, Chance felt similar feelings as the two previous years. President, Vice President, Secretary…all of the offices and their respective officers were called. “And your new parliamentarian is… Chance!” Chance’s agricultural education instructor told me it was like Chance was frozen in time. He couldn’t believe his name had just been called. He sat in his chair and finally, after a long pause, began running to the front to join his team. The entire banquet hall was silent. Tears flowed from the faces of all in attendance. Everyone there knew that Chance had to work twice as hard as the other candidates. And now… now his dream had come true. He was a chapter officer! No small feat for Chance. Chance has autism and he has to work hard to memorize, he has to really focus to learn and must concentrate on the task at hand in order to reach success. This August, I had the opportunity to work with the Sullivan Chapter Officer team during their chapter officer retreat in Indianapolis. It was apparent that in order for Chance to achieve his goal of chapter office, he had to dedicate his time and efforts, work hard and stay committed. But, most importantly, Chance had to face his fears and show courage. Yes, he still had fear, but he applied himself in spite of the fear. Courage, contrary to popular belief, is not the absence of fear, but the heart to act in spite of that fear. It is doing what we are afraid of doing, taking those risks and growing bigger through strength and confidence even when the odds seem to be against us. Acting courageously is