This I Believe: Honor Defines a Person

Every year at ESK, eighth grade students share their “This I Believe” essays with their fellow classmates during Chapel. Students are tasked with sharing a life lesson they have learned with the student body. According to the “This I Believe” organization website, students are encouraged to “start by telling a compelling story about how you came to hold an important personal belief—something that guides your daily living.” The talks are based on the “This I Believe” radio show hosted by Edward R. Murrow more than 50 years ago. Students all over the country – and the world – participate in the “This I Believe” project each year. ESK will feature several of these essays, including today’s from eighth grader Trevor Tirro. 

 

Have you ever wondered what the great leaders of the past and present all have in common? They are all honored. To be honored is to be held in a high respect. All great leaders have great integrity, firm belief, and honesty. These traits form the great honor that they all share. People like Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon, and Gandhi have all proven themselves to be great leaders by bringing about change in peaceful ways. John Lennon said, “If someone thinks that love and peace are a cliche that must have been left behind in the sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal.” Nonviolent leaders are, in my opinion, the most truly honorable people in the world.

My dad is a Lutheran pastor, so all my life I have been a part of civil rights marches and sexual equality protests. Sometimes people just decided that if people were different, they were a completely different species, so my dad would go to the protest to support anyone speaking out against that dehumanizing mindset. Most of the time I was small and didn’t fully comprehend how big what we were doing was, but I would just follow my parents wherever they were going. I would walk around with them and see how many determined people there were around us. Most of the time I had no clue what it was they were determined about, but I could see their integrity and their belief in justice. It’s not that I’m saying you should blindly follow someone and believe in whatever they do, but you should find someone honorable to follow, or maybe even strive to be like that person.

I had never really thought of myself as a leader. I was much more of a follower, because whenever I did try to assume a role of leadership, I would end up being too afraid that I’d mess up, so I just turned the role over to someone else. However, once I got involved with an urban ministry camp at my church called WOW (Win Our World), my entire view on leadership changed. For those of you that don’t know, WOW is an organization that brings youth together to a central place in need in order to serve our community and bring harmony amid confusion. This can take place in many ways:  handing out drinks of water in the street on a hot day, doing yard work for someone who can’t, or even something as simple as having a conversation with someone. With all of these things going on, I began finding myself stepping up more and not chickening out of whatever position I had just taken. At first I had to, because I knew my way around the church and the other places we went,  and I felt I had to help the guests. Gradually, I started wanting to step up more and help in whatever way I could. I began to have more integrity; I looked up more and more to the people taking charge and leading those who follow to the places they need to be.  I began to have a stronger belief that I really could make a difference, and I attempted to be more honest with myself and others. I had found the qualities of a leader in myself.

I have seen many people change their views on morality and justice after seeing protests where people of integrity stand together for justice. Anyone can change when they began to see the power of belief in you and in others. Many people mistake the words “belief” and “faith” as having a religious context every time they are used. Most of the time it just means to believe that you can accomplish something and to have faith in something worthy to follow, but if you wish to bring a religion into the mix, by all means, bring it in and put your belief there as well. But I have always focussed on the fact that everyone is a person, no matter what people say against them. All people have good in them, everyone is capable of acting honorably, and anyone, no matter how shy, can become a great leader if they strive for it.

I encourage all of you to join in some kind of group that makes you feel like you can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be a part a church or school or any other major group. It can just be a place you feel welcome. Trust me–it truly feels good to know that you have made a difference in someone else’s life. Small gestures for someone else will help you cultivate your sense of honor, integrity, and honesty. I suppose you could refer to this as a sort of “honor workout.” Performing small acts of goodness will not only build others up but build you up as well. Martin Luther King Jr. asked, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘what are you doing for others?'” And I think that really holds meaning. King truly states that without giving, there is no way to graciously receive. Be kind to people, be patient with people, even if it’s someone who drives you absolutely insane, listen to them. If someone needs help, give it to them.

Honor is a complicated thing, but all of the things that make it up fall under trying to be a better person. You must be honest, you must be kind, and you must respect others as equals. Respect is a very important part of honor. In fact, think of honor as a person. Think of honor as someone that you deeply respect for what they do. If you aspire and succeed to become like them, you have become someone that others respect. With that quality, you can give yourself the courage to take the lead and give others safe passage through any situation.

Mahatma Gandhi encouraged us all to “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” If you want something to change, go change it; just make sure that what you are doing is honorable and you will be making peace. Honor defines a person; it makes us all better people in some way, shape, or form, and for anyone who strives to earn it, it can give them the confidence to become a leader. Everyone makes changes, some good and some bad, but anyone, and each and every last one of you, has the potential to lead the world to peace and harmony. This I believe.