You do amazing things

This week is orientation week for new students at Duke.  Yesterday I sat in the Refectory (the cafeteria of the Divinity School) and watched a group of freshman wait in line for lunch.  Their faces were a mix of so many emotions:  from the elation of "I can't believe that I am really going to school at Duke!" to "I know all this stuff already," to "I am so nervous and I hope that no one can tell."

Walking around campus, there is a sense of freshness, of the beginning of something that has not been before.  During opening convocation in Duke Chapel, Duke's president spoke of graduates who went on to pioneer life-saving medical procedures, make advances in law and business, and create new knowledge.  We look at what they have accomplished and we are astounded, but as the president reminded us, none of those people knew that they would do such amazing things when they sat in the chapel on their first day of orientation.

This is so good to remember.  I think that perhaps none of us really knows what we are capable of doing, or of the impact that we might have on another person's life.  I don't mean that in an unrealistic way.  Most of us will never become world famous, or fantastically wealthy, or be remembered in the history classes of the future.

But I truly believe that every single one of us has the chance to make an impact in the world for good.  My mom is a prime example of this.  She is humble and would not lift herself up as an example of someone who changes the world...but she does.  (And since I am the one writing this, I will lift her up!)  Yesterday, one of my mom's coworkers told her that she remembers the day they met.  Over a decade ago, they met by the copy machine at work.  Mom's coworker was having a difficult time, and mentioned it in passing.  Instead of going on with her day, as many people would do, Mom stopped, listened, validated this woman's feelings, and shared some stories that this woman remembers over ten years later as being compassionate and helpful.  My mom is not famous in the conventional sense, but she is changing the world by the choices that she makes and the generosity of spirit that she lives.  By the way that she lives her life, my mom accomplishes astounding things every day.

I think about that when I see the wide-eyed freshman going through orientation, no doubt thinking about astounding things that they hope to do someday.  I hope that some of them are famous and amazing in the conventional sense--that one of them finds a cure for cancer, or writes the next great American novel, or finds a way to disseminate technology that helps us to take better care of the environment.  But even more than that, I hope that those freshman choose to be extraordinary in the way that my mom is, whether or not they are ever famous in the world's eyes.

A new school year openly marks the beginning of something that has not yet been.  Whether or not you or someone you love is starting a new school year, this is the beginning of something new for you, too. This day has never been before, and you don't yet know what you are capable of as you live it out.  So many things are possible for you.  Even if you will never be a wide-eyed freshman again, even if the world will never know your name, this earth is not the same as it was before you arrived.

You make a difference in this world by your presence.  The way that you treat people, the time you spend with them, the stories that you share matter.  They probably matter more than you will ever know.

So go out into the world and know that you matter.  You don't know yet how something that you say or do might make a difference to someone else.  Trust that not a single day of your life is wasted.  In ways that you might never know, you do amazing things that change the world.