Hello friends & family, I am now back home and enjoying the relaxation. I have had a few chances to speak to the students at Cherry Creek High School and this last time was the most interesting.
The last couple times we have spoken to students that are Juniors & Seniors at Cherry Creek, although this time we had the opportunity to speak to about 70 students that were more sophomores than juniors and seniors. We were also able to have quite a few of their parents their and a couple of the administrative members along with the Principle. It was a full house and the most exciting day. It was really exciting for me because my wife Kori and our twins Keagan & Emry were able to come with me to the school and listen to Jim and I interact with the students.
About 7:15 Jim and I were introduced by two students that took the Cowboy Ethics challenge last year Collin & Talia who were so nice to wake up early and come in for the day. Collin graduated and is now going to college at Red Rocks. Talia is now a senior and is looking forward to graduating. As Jim and I jumped in to the Codes of the West the students were so responsive. Most of the times when asked by someone to get up and talk about something in front of your peers as a high school student they are quite shy. But in our speaking I have noticed that as they learn the Code of the West they are gaining confidence in themselves and building a self esteem to be able to stand up for what they believe in. I saw many students 16 & 17 years old that were not at all afraid to stand up and talk about what they have learned and what they believe. Jim and I asked the students towards the end to stand up and tell us what they think there 11th principle would be. The 11th principle is something that is different for each person it is something you live for yourself.
Many of the students had an 11th principle that was astonishing at their age. They talked of standing up for what they believe in, leaving every situation better than it was when they got there, and one student had the best 11th principle I had ever heard. "Dreams will always be dreams, without action!" If you heard your 16 year old son or daughter say something like this with the heart and determination like we saw, what would you think?
At the end of the hour we had the privilege of handing out a plaque with the students name and accomplishment of passing the Cowboy Ethics "Code of the West" class. They were so excited to get a something for passing a class. For many of them this might be the only award they have ever won and I saw one student that had been pretty quiet and kept to himself the whole hour and you wander if he is taken any of this in or not. But as he sat down in his seat and no one was really watching he took the sleeve of his shirt and wiped the finger print off of his plaque. He was so happy at that moment right there; we had reached him deeper than we will ever know. That is what this class can do and is doing in Cherry Creek right now. If you would like to know more about it feel free to check out the website on my home page.
Till next time, “Success is in the eye of the Beholder!"