At one of the conferences, I invited a couple of my best friends to attend the banquet. When they arrived, they gave me a basket with all sorts of little gifts in it. One of the gifts was a standing calendar where you flip a page every day to see the date and a quote. There was a quote in particular that stuck out to me and related to what I’ve been thinking about lately.
With spring comes banquet season and each state officer develops a keynote speech to deliver 10-15 different times. The very first banquet that I gave my speech at was with North White FFA. The subject of my speech is very personal to me and features a difficult conflict I had in my life. I wasn’t sure how people would react to hearing it and it’s a more emotional speech than any others I’ve developed in my life. After giving my speech to an audience for the first time, I thought about changing it. I felt like the story was too much and maybe it just wasn’t right for my message. At the end of the banquet I was getting ready to leave and a lady, one of the parents I believe, walked up to me and said “Your speech was wonderful. I don’t know if it’s what I’ve been going through recently with family, but it really spoke to me. God put you here tonight to give that speech.”
At that moment I wanted to tear up and give her a hug because that meant so much to me. She probably isn’t aware of the impact that one conversation created. The first banquet I attended, wanted to change my speech, and right as I was leaving one person changed my mindset. I delivered a message that made an impact on her life, but she made a difference in mine. I decided to keep the same keynote speech and I’m happy with the message I get to share. Every day we can make a difference in someone else’s life without realizing it.
~Brittany Gonzales~
