President Franklin Roosevelt famously said, "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."
I truly feel that this quote is the cornerstone of what it means to be part of a society that puts their best effort forth in raising the next generation. The future is uncertain. It is now, always has been, and always will be. But we as individuals and as a collective society have one powerful tool for achieving Roosevelt's vision; engagement.
As I prepare to step into the next phase in my life I'm constantly reflecting on how I got here, slowly piecing together the people, places, things, and circumstances that drove me to this point. With a profound sense of gratitude I think I've arrived at a powerful realization about my own upbringing, and something I'm sure most individuals can agree was incredibly influential in their lives as well. I'll boil it down to this: people, everywhere, in contexts small or large, who engaged me. Who acknowledged me. Who allowed me to interact with them and feel like a part of life. Who gave me the opportunity to grow, to gain confidence, and to learn.
So, this note is is my way of expressing that gratitude and possibly sharing some insight into an important lesson, as someone not far removed from youth and as someone continuously being engaged by people every day.
Thanks for Engaging Us.
Thank you to my coaches.
Coaching is a truly special endeavor. A job of selflessness and of vicarious joy. There is a profound sense of satisfaction in being part of another individuals growth and development. My coaches have been some of the greatest influences in my personal development. They promoted hard work. Encouraged my intrinsic motivation. Cultivated positive attitude. And gave me an appreciation for something bigger than myself. They engaged me, whether on the court, in the water, on the field, or completely removed from an athletic context. This engagement, in the form of simple words of encouragement, advice on how to improve, or tough love, allowed me to grow, and now as a coach myself, I'm incredibly grateful for their contributions.
Thank you to my teachers.
Humans. We all teach and we all learn. Sometimes we teach each other the right things and sometimes our examples teach each other what not to do. Sometimes we learn the right way, and other times we learn the hard way. But those among us, good enough to make careers out of this, educate and inspire entire generations on how to be the best versions of themselves. Knowledge is power and knowledge is confidence. So thank you Teachers. Thanks for everything you did to give me the opportunity to succeed in this life. It was your engagement, through encouraging curiosity, fostering imagination, and ultimately providing an environment to learn and grow that I attribute to so much of my ability to be able to navigate life. A loving hand on my shoulder as I completed my times tables. A smile when I was overwhelmed or confused. A conversation about life and aspirations. And many small pieces of wisdom. Thank you for engaging us.
Thank you to my neighbors.
Fathers of friends. Mothers of girlfriends. Next door neighbors. Church goers. Patrons at the community pool. Thank you all for engaging me. It was the many conversations. The acknowledgement of my existence. The interest in what I had to say. The feelings of genuine care in who I was becoming. These are understated, undervalued, often forgotten, but incredibly priceless and invaluable to who I've become. We all have neighbors. Not everyone has siblings, or parents, or coaches, but we all have neighbors. I like to think it was their engagement that allowed me to communicate better, listen more, and value the village.
Thank you to random strangers.
To the waitress. The bag boy at Publix. The front desk person at the doctors. The passerby who extended a compliment. The guy on the bus. The girl in line for food. Thank you to the anonymous strangers who engaged me, if only for a second, in words or in expressions, for your constant small gifts of reassurance that I am alive, actively participating in the life. You've taught me to extend this very same engagement to other strangers. And together we create an invisible connection as fellow individuals, citizens, and humans that is at the heart of what it means to be alive.
Thank you to my coworkers.
To my old bosses, thank you. Your contributions during my time in the job combined with your attitude and interest in my development made my experiences meaningful. To the bosses I still meet up with for lunch, now as friends. To the ones who check in on me through a simple text or phone call. The one's who've helped me advance further even after our time together is up. My gratitude to you as mentors cannot be overstated. To my coworkers. The ones who engaged me in meaningful dialogue. Or conversations just to pass time. To the coworkers who invited me to gatherings, who became friends and family. To people I've lost contact with, but know are there if I ever needed them. To the ones who visited me when I was in the hospital. Thank you for engaging me. For integrating me into your lives, and for helping me piece together the puzzle of who I am.
Thank you to my friends.
Life is incredibly fuller, more meaningful, and more well rounded with good friends. My college roommates, my childhood sleepover pals, the guys who were with me since high school, the girls I can count on for a cup of coffee and conversation. I've gained so much from you all and I'm so grateful for your friendships. Some nights my roommates and I sit in the living room until 3 am chatting about life, as we make our way through this journey together, simultaneously. Sometimes we hash out the past, going over what we've learned and what we hope to gain from the future. Other times we share insights from our different backgrounds. We share easy experiences and difficult ones. We share emotions, experiences, struggles, triumphs, and we achieve levels of depth that have fundamentally changed my views on life, opened my mind to new ideas, and encouraged me to be the best version of myself. To the childhood best friends, that no matter the distance, will face-time you on a Tuesday night just to catch up. Those small moments of engagement are everything to me. They've given me an omnipresent connection that I can call on in times of happiness, loneliness, and confusion. And to my girlfriends. One in particular. I could write an entire essay about the impacts your engagement have had on who I am. My personal development, capacity for compassion, selflessness, individual growth, knowledge of life, ability to love and be loved, and progression towards being a better person, would have been stifled if it wasn't for your engagement. So thank you friends. Our bonds, our connections, and our relationships, help define what it means to be alive and engaged in this life.
Thank you to my siblings.
The closest friends I'll ever have. My blood. The kind of gratitude a man can express to his brothers is unparalleled. It has no rival. It has no bounds. And no words can describe the connection you can have with your family. Being the middle brother meant I had engagement from both sides, and for all it's stereotypes, being the middle son is one of the greatest blessings in my life, to have an older and younger brother. Guys I can count on. Guys I can share everything with. Guys who will only ever be the ones to get the inside joke. We've cultivated connections, linked by memories that will be some of the last thoughts on my mind, as I fade into the long night years from now. Your engagement in the past as childhood friends, your engagement now as support lines and wisdom sharers, and your engagement in the future as uncles, as sons of our parents, and as lifelong members of the Heinton Family, are sources of gratitude that can never be fully spoken. Thanks guys.
Thank you to my parents.
And finally we arrive at the single most important engagement givers in my lifetime, of which I am a most humbled and grateful benefactor. Thank you for everything you've done. You gave me life. You gave me shelter, food, and water. You gave me safety, confidence, and love. You've engaged me in ways that have fundamentally shaped who I am. Your lessons cultivated my being and taught me how to be the person I wanted to become. Your sacrifices allowed me to have a childhood so full of happiness, incredible experiences, and belonging. You gave me the opportunity to succeed, to achieve any and all goals, and to experience life as part of a family. This note and my life derive it's origins from the days you fed my helpless body, the first time you lent me a hand to stand up and walk, the nights you read to me after long hours at work, the sacrifices you made so that I could play sports, the encouragement you gave to me so that I could make friends, the clothes you provided so that I could have confidence in my steps, the vacations you allowed us to take so that I could see the world, the hundreds of family dinners so that we felt included and engaged, and the love you've shown me each and every day from the time I came into this world until this morning when I received a "how ya doing" text. Thank you will never be sufficient but I hope you understand the deeply profound gratitude I have for your engagement each and every day since as far back as I can remember.
Concluding Thoughts
I truly feel that this kind of engagement, a genuine interest in the development of a young mind and body is the secret recipe for creating the best possible chance for that young mind and body to reach its full potential.
Gratitude isn't a tricky concept to master. It comes in the many forms of Thank You. But how do you thank an entire infrastructure for helping you become the person you are today? How can you express gratitude to a system? To the cycle of life? To the countless people, environments, and isolated snapshots that made you possible? No words can do it justice. Only action. You can become part of the infrastructure. You can become part of someone else's cycle of life, someone else's system. And you can work to inject the wisdom, experience, and gratitude of your own history into creating other's futures. And it can happen simply by engaging. First you say "Thanks" and then later you'll say "You're Welcome."
So, Thanks for Engaging Us.
I truly feel that this quote is the cornerstone of what it means to be part of a society that puts their best effort forth in raising the next generation. The future is uncertain. It is now, always has been, and always will be. But we as individuals and as a collective society have one powerful tool for achieving Roosevelt's vision; engagement.
As I prepare to step into the next phase in my life I'm constantly reflecting on how I got here, slowly piecing together the people, places, things, and circumstances that drove me to this point. With a profound sense of gratitude I think I've arrived at a powerful realization about my own upbringing, and something I'm sure most individuals can agree was incredibly influential in their lives as well. I'll boil it down to this: people, everywhere, in contexts small or large, who engaged me. Who acknowledged me. Who allowed me to interact with them and feel like a part of life. Who gave me the opportunity to grow, to gain confidence, and to learn.
So, this note is is my way of expressing that gratitude and possibly sharing some insight into an important lesson, as someone not far removed from youth and as someone continuously being engaged by people every day.
Thanks for Engaging Us.
Thank you to my coaches.
Coaching is a truly special endeavor. A job of selflessness and of vicarious joy. There is a profound sense of satisfaction in being part of another individuals growth and development. My coaches have been some of the greatest influences in my personal development. They promoted hard work. Encouraged my intrinsic motivation. Cultivated positive attitude. And gave me an appreciation for something bigger than myself. They engaged me, whether on the court, in the water, on the field, or completely removed from an athletic context. This engagement, in the form of simple words of encouragement, advice on how to improve, or tough love, allowed me to grow, and now as a coach myself, I'm incredibly grateful for their contributions.
Thank you to my teachers.
Humans. We all teach and we all learn. Sometimes we teach each other the right things and sometimes our examples teach each other what not to do. Sometimes we learn the right way, and other times we learn the hard way. But those among us, good enough to make careers out of this, educate and inspire entire generations on how to be the best versions of themselves. Knowledge is power and knowledge is confidence. So thank you Teachers. Thanks for everything you did to give me the opportunity to succeed in this life. It was your engagement, through encouraging curiosity, fostering imagination, and ultimately providing an environment to learn and grow that I attribute to so much of my ability to be able to navigate life. A loving hand on my shoulder as I completed my times tables. A smile when I was overwhelmed or confused. A conversation about life and aspirations. And many small pieces of wisdom. Thank you for engaging us.
Thank you to my neighbors.
Fathers of friends. Mothers of girlfriends. Next door neighbors. Church goers. Patrons at the community pool. Thank you all for engaging me. It was the many conversations. The acknowledgement of my existence. The interest in what I had to say. The feelings of genuine care in who I was becoming. These are understated, undervalued, often forgotten, but incredibly priceless and invaluable to who I've become. We all have neighbors. Not everyone has siblings, or parents, or coaches, but we all have neighbors. I like to think it was their engagement that allowed me to communicate better, listen more, and value the village.
Thank you to random strangers.
To the waitress. The bag boy at Publix. The front desk person at the doctors. The passerby who extended a compliment. The guy on the bus. The girl in line for food. Thank you to the anonymous strangers who engaged me, if only for a second, in words or in expressions, for your constant small gifts of reassurance that I am alive, actively participating in the life. You've taught me to extend this very same engagement to other strangers. And together we create an invisible connection as fellow individuals, citizens, and humans that is at the heart of what it means to be alive.
Thank you to my coworkers.
To my old bosses, thank you. Your contributions during my time in the job combined with your attitude and interest in my development made my experiences meaningful. To the bosses I still meet up with for lunch, now as friends. To the ones who check in on me through a simple text or phone call. The one's who've helped me advance further even after our time together is up. My gratitude to you as mentors cannot be overstated. To my coworkers. The ones who engaged me in meaningful dialogue. Or conversations just to pass time. To the coworkers who invited me to gatherings, who became friends and family. To people I've lost contact with, but know are there if I ever needed them. To the ones who visited me when I was in the hospital. Thank you for engaging me. For integrating me into your lives, and for helping me piece together the puzzle of who I am.
Thank you to my friends.
Life is incredibly fuller, more meaningful, and more well rounded with good friends. My college roommates, my childhood sleepover pals, the guys who were with me since high school, the girls I can count on for a cup of coffee and conversation. I've gained so much from you all and I'm so grateful for your friendships. Some nights my roommates and I sit in the living room until 3 am chatting about life, as we make our way through this journey together, simultaneously. Sometimes we hash out the past, going over what we've learned and what we hope to gain from the future. Other times we share insights from our different backgrounds. We share easy experiences and difficult ones. We share emotions, experiences, struggles, triumphs, and we achieve levels of depth that have fundamentally changed my views on life, opened my mind to new ideas, and encouraged me to be the best version of myself. To the childhood best friends, that no matter the distance, will face-time you on a Tuesday night just to catch up. Those small moments of engagement are everything to me. They've given me an omnipresent connection that I can call on in times of happiness, loneliness, and confusion. And to my girlfriends. One in particular. I could write an entire essay about the impacts your engagement have had on who I am. My personal development, capacity for compassion, selflessness, individual growth, knowledge of life, ability to love and be loved, and progression towards being a better person, would have been stifled if it wasn't for your engagement. So thank you friends. Our bonds, our connections, and our relationships, help define what it means to be alive and engaged in this life.
Thank you to my siblings.
The closest friends I'll ever have. My blood. The kind of gratitude a man can express to his brothers is unparalleled. It has no rival. It has no bounds. And no words can describe the connection you can have with your family. Being the middle brother meant I had engagement from both sides, and for all it's stereotypes, being the middle son is one of the greatest blessings in my life, to have an older and younger brother. Guys I can count on. Guys I can share everything with. Guys who will only ever be the ones to get the inside joke. We've cultivated connections, linked by memories that will be some of the last thoughts on my mind, as I fade into the long night years from now. Your engagement in the past as childhood friends, your engagement now as support lines and wisdom sharers, and your engagement in the future as uncles, as sons of our parents, and as lifelong members of the Heinton Family, are sources of gratitude that can never be fully spoken. Thanks guys.
Thank you to my parents.
And finally we arrive at the single most important engagement givers in my lifetime, of which I am a most humbled and grateful benefactor. Thank you for everything you've done. You gave me life. You gave me shelter, food, and water. You gave me safety, confidence, and love. You've engaged me in ways that have fundamentally shaped who I am. Your lessons cultivated my being and taught me how to be the person I wanted to become. Your sacrifices allowed me to have a childhood so full of happiness, incredible experiences, and belonging. You gave me the opportunity to succeed, to achieve any and all goals, and to experience life as part of a family. This note and my life derive it's origins from the days you fed my helpless body, the first time you lent me a hand to stand up and walk, the nights you read to me after long hours at work, the sacrifices you made so that I could play sports, the encouragement you gave to me so that I could make friends, the clothes you provided so that I could have confidence in my steps, the vacations you allowed us to take so that I could see the world, the hundreds of family dinners so that we felt included and engaged, and the love you've shown me each and every day from the time I came into this world until this morning when I received a "how ya doing" text. Thank you will never be sufficient but I hope you understand the deeply profound gratitude I have for your engagement each and every day since as far back as I can remember.
Concluding Thoughts
I truly feel that this kind of engagement, a genuine interest in the development of a young mind and body is the secret recipe for creating the best possible chance for that young mind and body to reach its full potential.
Gratitude isn't a tricky concept to master. It comes in the many forms of Thank You. But how do you thank an entire infrastructure for helping you become the person you are today? How can you express gratitude to a system? To the cycle of life? To the countless people, environments, and isolated snapshots that made you possible? No words can do it justice. Only action. You can become part of the infrastructure. You can become part of someone else's cycle of life, someone else's system. And you can work to inject the wisdom, experience, and gratitude of your own history into creating other's futures. And it can happen simply by engaging. First you say "Thanks" and then later you'll say "You're Welcome."
So, Thanks for Engaging Us.
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