Words of Impact

Words have meaning and they can sometimes stick around much longer than the speaker ever intended. What brought this to mind was reflecting on an almost off-handed remark that resonated with me at the time and never left. The words date all the way back to September 1989 when I was at Baylor. I was a member of a business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, while at Baylor and we were interviewing rushees for membership. This was typically a very long day, and quite honestly, I was not paying much attention at the time. The interviews tend to run together, the questions and answers all start sounding the same, and most of the energy needed to be devoted to the voting going on later that day.

I remember that were interviewing a young lady named Gigi Pitzer, and I remember to this day the question was generally along the lines of "If you could be anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?" I remember that as soon as I heard the question the thought that went through my head was, "I wish for once that someone would answer that they would just like to be themselves." No sooner had this thought crossed my mind than Ms. Pitzer said she would just like to be herself. She said this in a very matter of fact way, like she couldn't imagine being anyone else. Plus, she added, she rather liked herself. The answer projected boldness and confidence. And left a mark on me. Here I am, almost 23 years later, remarking on these words that she has probably long since forgotten.

To this day, I love the way she answered the question. Many of us would likely choose to be some great historical figure, whether it be someone like an Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, a Jesus Christ, or a Winston Churchill. But she was happy with herself. I am not sure what possessed Ms. Pitzer to answer the question the way she did. How many of us would have answered that we would just like to be ourselves? The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me. Besides, we all have gifts to offer, whether our brains, our time, or our talent. And we all the ability to positively impact those around us such as a child, a co-worker, or the bigger world around us. Remember, words have impact, and sometimes they last a long, long time. Thank you Gigi!