FFA Proceedings 2002

Retiring Address
Wow! Imagine what it would
feel like to be fearless. No more
fear of heights, no more fear of
spiders and no more letting your
imagination run wild thinking
the aliens from the movie “Signs”
have moved into your home and
are just waiting to get you.
Elio Chiarelli Jr., Eastern
Region Vice President
Fourth Convention Session
Fearless
46
When I think back to high
school, I can remember some
pretty scary moments. You know
what I’m talking about trying to
fit in, asking that special person
out for the first time, trying to get
the grades that you and your parents
want you to. We can all
think of times when we wish we
were a little more fearless.
There was one place in high
school, though, where I was as
comfortable as can be. Oh yeah,
biology class was my domain! It
didn’t matter what creature we’d
dissect or which process we’d discuss—everyone
wanted me in
their group!
Finally, at the end of my sophomore
year, I was so excited when
our biology class took the trip of
my dreams to a tropical rain forest
in Belize.
When we got there, our guide
told us about some things to
watch out for, but since I could
tell you the scientific name and
habitat of each, I felt the conversation
was rather frivolous.
Nothing I couldn’t handle!
That first night, before we all
headed off to our respective cabins,
our guide told the girls that
he didn’t want to hear any
screams in the middle of the
night unless someone was about
to die. He did not say much to us
guys, so we had to play up our
true masculinity, just a
bit…laughing as we said to the
girls in an oh-so-patronizing tone,
“Yeah, girls, you better watch out
for those insects that
like to crawl into bed
with you, and if you
need anything, you
know where to find us
in the manly cabin!”
We all finally got
into our bunks and
began to fall asleep.
Everything inside was
silent, and outside you
could hear the typical
nightly sounds of the
tropical rain forest. I
began dozing off into
what was going to be a
peaceful night’s sleep
in the wilderness.
Then all of a sudden,
one of my friends
whispered to the rest
of us, “Guys…hey guys…there is
something crawling on the wall.
Get a flashlight!” Just then the
kid below my bunk started shining
his flashlight around the
cabin until the beam finally
focused on the ceiling right
above my feet.
There it was—the biggest,
meanest, ugliest, deadliest scorpion
God and man has ever seen,
and it was just above me! Oh, did
I lose it! In the matter of a second,
Elio, the courageous, adventure-seeking
biologist, became
Elio, the terrified sissy, as I shot
through the screen door and
screamed all the way back to the
main cabin. When everyone
came out to see what was going
on, there I stood in front of the
whole crew, scared out of my
mind!
The rest of the trip, I let my
fear get the best of me and missed
out on some pretty awesome caving
and hiking trips because I
thought a man-eating, devil-dragon
scorpion was waiting for me.
Of course, I would never admit
that it was fear. I would simply
make up excuses such as, “Ah, I
am too tired to go with you guys.
You can go ahead without me.”
Or “Oh, I already have some
things planned this afternoon.”
That trip, I was anything but
fearless!
So today, you and I are on a
mission together, a mission to
become fearless. This journey
reminds me of that game where
you tried to get someone to guess
something by saying “You’re getting
warmer” or “You’re getting
colder.” The colder we get, the
farther we are from being “fearless.”
So all we have to do is stay
warm. It’s as simple as child’s
play, really. Yeah, right. You and I
both know that living without
fear is difficult.
So, let’s start recognizing how
we become frozen. I had a friend
in school that was in this exact
situation. He had the world by
the tail, so to speak. He was good
at sports, very popular among his
peers and great in class. But once
he reached that point in his life,
he just seemed to stop — there
was no more growth. Actually, he
started becoming arrogant to his
peers and began to lose focus on
what really mattered.
Let’s explore the feelings that
had come along with his success,
and many times our own. There
was satisfaction, pride, accomplishment
and honor! But soon
there came worry. Worry that if
he would grow or change, he
would no longer be good enough;
PHOTO BY ED ZURGA