Life is about Keeping Your Options Open
The Hallway of Opportunity
March 12, 2013
I gave this speech as part of a career development/ "Power Lunch" at the United Neighborhood Organization's (UNO) Veteran's Memorial High School to a group of twenty-two freshman aged young people today. The goal was to have a discussion about how we are all born with the same opportunities and although we might encounter some challenges along the way- it is how we respond to those challenges and how we keep our options open that determine our success- not the neighborhood we came from- the environment we grew up in or whichever tough luck we encountered along the way.
--------
How many Doors are there in this hallway? Answer: Twenty-four.
Great- I'd like the team to divide down the middle of the room. Those of you on the right are now known as the East Team. Those of you to the left of the center of the room are the West Team.
(Drew diagram on the white board- depicting the twenty-four doors- Twelve under the West team; Twelve under the East Team. )
My name is Lou Sandoval, like you I grew up in an average neighborhood with average people. Did we see some challenges along the way- definitely. Did we let those challenges stop us. We tried not to. I'm here to share my story and some lessons that I hope will help you shape the goals you set for yourself and the standards to which you hold yourself up to.
These doors represent the number of opportunities that we
are all born with. Regardless of what you may be told in life or where you grew up or who your parents are- as long as we have two arms, two legs and we are healthy- we have the same potential to be someone. If you are lacking in any of those items- it doesn't mean you can't be successful- it just means you might have to adapt and try a bit harder.
You will note that regardless of whether you are East Side
or West Side you have the same number of doors. You each have twelve doors. For the sake of simple math , I have chosen that number. It is also the exact same number of doors that you have in the hallway on this floor. So let’s have a conversation:
Team West: If you don’t do your homework and get bad grades in school. What happens?
Answer from the group: You don't continue in school- you become discouraged.
All great answers, bear with me and we'll see what happens.
(close off 1 door-by marking it off with the dryerase marker)
Team East: If you stay out late and hang around with the
wrong crowd , that might lead to a police or arrest record. What happens?
Answer from the group: You can't get a job, you get a bad reputation. Exactly- we'll see what other consequences come of this in a bit.
Team West: You have a girlfriend or boyfriend, things are going well
. Maybe too well- you end up with a baby
before you graduate. What happens?
Answer from the group: You have a hard time concentrating, you can't focus. You may have to drop out. Your life is over. Let me be clear- just because this happens- it doesn't mean your life is over. I have two little girls that are four and six years old. They are the best thing to ever happen to me. It doesn't mean your life is over- but everything has it's time and place. Now is the time for you to garner all the education you can. You'll have plenty of time to pursue having a family.
(close off 1 door-by marking it off with the dryerase marker)
Team East: Having a police record now means that you
will not be able to go to law school, medical school , depending on the charges
you can’t get a job. What happens?
Answer from the Group: You'll have to settle for a minimum wage job, you may have to go on welfare. So who is starting to see a pattern? (half the group raises their hands). The pattern is that one bad decision leads to doors being closed.
Team West: You have diapers to buy, formula- you can’t
afford day care both you and the baby’s mom now have to leave school to get
jobs. You can’t graduate. What happens?
Answers from the group: You have to find a baby sitter-it's expensive. You have to go to night school or summer school. You might not graduate.
That's right. I'm not saying that you can't accomplish your goals after this happens- it just gets harder. It pushes your accomplishing those goals further out- and further out sometimes means that you may not accomplish them unless you are really focused and a bit lucky. If you leave all that stuff until later in life- you are better equipped to handle it and you set yourself up for greater success.
(close off 2 door-by marking it off with the dryerase marker)
We can go on... but I think you get my point…
Life is about the decisions you make- Good decisions keep doors
open or create new doors ; Bad ones close doors sometimes for a short time-
sometimes permanently. Your job as young men and women is to recognize that no one is responsible, but YOU for the decisions you make. No one makes you do anything that you don’t already want to do or think you need to do.
One bad decision can lead to another and another before you might start to feel trapped in your life.
Hopefully, you will walk away an
Comments