279 Tweens And One Better Person

Did you like high school?

Note: If you’re in high school now (or will be in a few years), disregard this question for now, but come back and answer it around 2025, okay?

So, did you like high school? Usually, this question gets one of two polar opposite reactions. Most folks either loved it… or loathed it. There’s not much in between!

However, when you ask about middle school, the response is almost always unanimous: “Hated it!” I know I sure did! I mean, this is when I so, so, so wanted to talk to these strange beings known as “girls,” yet I had all the communication skills of a Rhesus monkey hopped up on No Doz. I tripped over my own two ginormous feet, forgot to wear deodorant on a daily basis, my voice had more cracks than a plumber’s convention and, to top it off, I had hair growing in weird places (my apologies to all you visual learners).

So, when I was invited to go back and speak at my old middle school, I accepted… and promptly felt my face break out with zits.

When the day rolled around, I’ve gotta say, middle school isn’t nearly as traumatic as I’d remembered! Either that or 20 years means I’ve forgotten all that embarrassment… NOT!

Okay, serious stuff here… When I was doing Q & A with my Montgomery County R-II Middle School audience, I got one of those really profound (and unexpected) questions that make me love working with middle schoolers:

“Marcus, do you think you’ve become a better person since you lost your sight?”

I’m not sure I’ve ever had this question from this age group before, so I didn’t have a ready answer. Yet, every so often, I open my mouth and something appropriate pops out (not like that time I accidentally spat in my date’s eye at my first dance… ahhh the flashbacks continue!)

Okay, back to serious stuff again…

Question again: “Do you feel like you’ve become a better person since you lost your sight?” Answer? “Yes, absolutely! And I hope I’m a better person today than I was yesterday. And I hope tomorrow I’ll be a better person than I am today.”

For years, I’ve been a big advocate of constant self improvement. Yet, I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of it in this day-to-day realm. To be a better person than yesterday means I have to do something (anything, really) today. Right here and now. And tomorrow? Third verse, same as the first.

Ya know, the horrors of middle school were nothing compared with those life-changes after high school… but they DID help me become a better person. Yet, even if I didn’t have such a dramatic story, I hope I’d still be the kind of person who wants to make daily improvements. But that means putting forth a conscious effort. Every day, I want to learn something new, do something healthy, teach something important and experience something different.

As a 13 year old middle schooler, I was just happy to get home at night with my underwear still intact. Some days still feel like staying in bed might have been a better option – but now I know the bigger picture. A person’s actions, attitudes and choices… these are things we each control. Every day, sometimes even moment by moment! Each experience brings an opportunity to have that moment shape a positive tomorrow.

Years, life experience and a desire for daily improvement. These things add up to helping create a happy life. I hope you embrace the same goals and determination. And thank goodness middle school isn’t even close to the best years of life!

"This Will Be My Biggest Challenge"

A few weeks ago, one of the teeth on my bridgework broke off. This happens every so often and it's a quick run to the dentist to get it fixed. The thing is, my dentist is now 1000 miles away.

So, when this happened a few weeks ago, I was headed out the door the next morning for seven days of speaking engagements. Oh, what to do? Stand up in front of thousands of people with a giant tooth gap? Or visit a "regular" dentist nearby who isn't a super specialist like my guy back in STL? I chose the local option.

Well, that fix lasted for a couple of weeks until some chicken tenders for lunch on Wednesday gave me a recurrence of the issue. This time to another dentist.

However, this dentist I visited yesterday turned out to be an awesome experience! Not only does he have a state of the art office, complete with flat screen monitors everywhere where you can see your own X rays and medical history, but his staff was about as warm and welcoming as I've ever experienced. Where some doctor's offices balk at Carson, this office had at least half a dozen office employees who stood in line to pet him!

So, back to the dentist himself... after looking at my X-rays and visually inspecting my bridgework, I asked him how long this current bridgework may last. "At least a couple more years," he said. My dentist back in St. Louis is retiring this summer, so there's every chance someone else will be creating the new prosthetics. When I told my new Orlando dentist this, he was very honest and humble:

"Marcus, when that time comes, I can try. This will be the most difficult prosthetic I've ever created. I can't promise it will work, but I can try. If you'd prefer to go to a super specialist that does projects like this regularly, that's certainly your decision, but please know I'd be happy to try."

I LOVE his honesty! My mouth is my money maker, and I don't want to waste his time. So, imagine when the time comes, I'll turn to the super specialist. Still, I appreciate his humility of informing me this isn't his usual area of expertise. I want to know that my doctor knows his limitations and won't go in guns a-blazin' if he's not 110% certain there will be a favorable outcome.

This type of humility and honesty is what will keep me coming back to this doctor. No arrogance, no promises he can't keep, just a true desire to do what is best for his patient. And if you need a dentist in my hometown – I know a guy!