|
|
Manny Scott gives moving motivational
presentations
for students and community |
|
January 26, 2015 |
by Katie Colson
“I see you.”
“I feel you.”
“You are not alone.”
With these words, Manny Scott, a motivational
speaker, addressed the students at Bonners Ferry
High School last Thursday, January 22. His
speech began simply, with a song, and asked
students to stand up for silly questions. “How
many of you can do the duggie?” was the first
question. “How many of you love SpongeBob?” "How
many of you were once Barney fans?”
The questions soon took a serious tone. “How
many of you have only one parent?” "How many of
you have seen your mom abused?” "How many of you
have been abused?” “How many of you have lost
someone to violence?”
Mr. Scott asked these questions among
heartbreaking stories about other students he
had helped, and situations he has lived through.
 With
these questions, Mr. Scott opened students' eyes
to the heartbreak and hardship their peers go
through every day. He told the students over and
over that even the most outgoing, the most
enthusiastic, the seemingly happiest of their
friends can be struggling and so very close to
giving up.
Mr. Scott opened students’ eyes to each other.
He showed them they are not alone.
He allowed the student body to see past the
walls many students put up to see their true
selves.
His informal style and sincere belief in the
students created a safe environment for them to
show how they felt. As a student, I was deeply
affected. I saw so many students standing up and
sharing the situations they were in. Nearly a
third of the student body stood up when asked if
they had been, or were in, a dark place. And far
too many stayed standing when he asked if any
had contemplated suicide. I saw people crying
who I never thought would have. I cried. He
believed in us, and talked to us like we were
equals. He showed that people can make it
through the hardest of times, and inspired us to
as well.
Mr. Scott also shared personal stories of his
younger brother, who ended up in jail and made
him promise to tell his story so other kids
would not end up like him. He talked about the
death of his best friend, who wanted to be a
counselor, and who helped Mr. Scott when he had
nothing.
He also told the students about a fateful event
in his life. When he once thought his life was
over, that it would never get better, a complete
stranger happened by where he was sitting on a
park bench. The stranger changed his life. The
man told Manny his own story of how he lost his
life to drugs and violence. He told Mr. Scott he
was changing his life, making it better, and
begged Manny to not be like him.
Mr. Scott said he left that bench and went back
to school. He now has two degrees, a masters,
and his working on his PhD. He has a wife and
three kids.
Later that day, following a free spaghetti
dinner sponsored by Boundary County School
District 101, Mr. Scott made another
presentation for the community. In that
presentation, Mr. Scott spoke again of the
hardships he had lived through, and showed how
you can move past even the worst of obstacles.
He showed a clip from the movie The Freedom
Writers, which is based on his own
experiences. Mr. Scott said that statistically,
he was not supposed to be here. His whole life
has been a miracle and a struggle. In the last
150 years, he is the first man in his family to
not cheat on his wife. Mr. Scott said he had to
become the kind of man he had never met.
He gave the parents in attendance a list of
things they could do to help their children.
First, create a healthy home for your child. Get
rid of an abusive partner, get rid of drugs, and
make home safe for your child. He shared stories
about defending his mother from his abusive
stepfather; something no child should have to
do.
Second, ensure your child receives a good
education. Work with their teachers.
Third, push your kids. Tell them they can be
better. Tell them to be better than you. Mr.
Scott said his stepfather, when he wasn’t drunk
or high, would tell him, “be better than me,
don’t be like me.”
And finally, fight for your family. After this
statement he shared a clip of a man whose car
was stolen. The man chased after the car and
refused to give up. At the end of the clip, it
is revealed the man’s infant daughter was in the
car. Scott said there is nothing better you can
do than fight for your family.
Mr. Scott told the audience that to make a
change they have to turn the page. You can
either feel sorry for yourself, or you can
change your life. He closed his speech with the
definition of the word decide. Once you
have decided what you are going to do,
commit to it.
“Everything in your life is a wing or a weight,"
said Mr. Scott. "Cut away the weights, and hold
onto the wings.”
“The man who thinks he can and the man who
thinks he can’t are both right.” |
|
|
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
