Maxwell turned 17 years old yesterday. I wish I was able to capture my thoughts on him as a young man today, but I just can't seem to. I've got too many emotions to put into words, so I'll let his own words do the talking. This is an essay that he wrote last week for his National Honor Society application. It's a perfect representation of him at 17 years old.
To be a person of
character, six pillars are needed. There can’t be trustworthiness without
responsibility or fairness without caring or respect without citizenship.
However, the qualities that I have personally grown in and hold above all others are respect, trustworthiness, and fairness.
Respect is one
thing that I learned very quickly growing up in a military household. Even
more-so because it was and still is a Catholic household. First and foremost,
in that is respect for God. No matter how skewed the world seems or how vague
the plan is, there has always been a trust in God that stems from the respect I
was instilled with by my parents for Him. Even when having to uproot my life
and move overseas to Germany in fifth grade, my respect for God comforted me
because I knew, even if not then, that it was part of the plan. As sad or angry
as I might have been I understand now that everything happens for a reason, you
can just never lose your faith or respect in God. The next thing I was taught
to hold in the highest regard is country. My life would be so wildly different
had the U.S. not given my dad the opportunity to serve and my family the
opportunity to see the world. I understand that this country is the reason I
can say, wear, play, and write what I want. Just like it is the reason I go to
sleep at night not fearing war at my doorstep when I wake up. This respect as
vital to people of character today. Without this respect for God and country,
people are lost and they lose sight of who gives for them, loves them, and fights
for them every day.
The next quality
that I believe is crucial for people to have and is the kind of character the National Honor Society is
looking for is trustworthiness. Someone can be a genius in the classroom or a
standout on the field but without trustworthiness that all amounts to nothing.
This is another thing that, as a military brat, I picked up on early. I move
every two or three years. When you move, to quote Tim McGraw, “you find out who
your friends are". This means if I were to text someone back in my old high
school in Virginia, would they answer? If I was having a horrible day and
didn’t have anyone here to go to, would my old friends be there for me? Can I trust
them? This is something I hold very close because I have been forgotten and
shunned by people who I thought I could trust once I moved away. The same
works the other way. I have become very close with some people just over the
phone because I knew I could count on them to have my back and be there for me
no matter the distance. It is impossible to build relationships, lead people or
make connections with people if there is not trust present in the equation.
The third and
final quality I hold above all the others is fairness. This is because I see
fairness as the thing that sets America apart from the rest of the world.
Anyone can make it here. Immigrants from other countries are given the tools to
succeed in America while people who have been here since the Mayflower can do
the same. Everyone is presented with the same fair, equal road in America. It
is just all about how one reacts to that opportunity. Fairness a cornerstone of
the country and it is the same idea that sparked the American Revolution and
Civil Rights Movement. This same sense of fairness is needed in a leader because without it his or her authority and leadership is illegitimate. Without
the ability to fairly seek the common good for all people, a leader is not a
leader and a man or woman of character is a fraud.
A true person of
character has all the qualities presented by the National Honor Society or
works to obtain them. As for my life and the values instilled in me in a
military, Catholic house, I hold respect for God and country, trustworthiness to
all those around me, and fairness on a societal and personal level, above all.
Happy birthday, Moose!!
We love you, we are so incredibly proud of you
and we can't wait to see what the next year has in store!
