Prompt: Tom Mason -"No matter how much time goes by. No matter how hard living gets, we will remember. We will remember that it's not about how long we live, but how we live and what we leave behind." - 'Falling Skies'
Reaching into the box that held the names of the students who hadn't yet done their impromptu speech, I was trying to will Mrs. Reynolds not to pull out my name. I knew eventually that I would have to do the assignment but I wanted to put it off as long as I could.
"Finn, you're up," Mrs. Reynolds said, after looking at the slip of paper.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. So much for it being put off. The speech only had to be two minutes long, but this was going to be the worse three minutes of my life. I was positive I would draw a blank on whatever topic I was given and fail the assignment.
Getting to my feet I headed to the front of the room. Barring feigning illness, there was no way out of this.
Reaching the front of the classroom, I turned and faced my peers waiting for Mrs. Reynolds to give me my topic.
"Your topic is to name someone who has inspired you and tell us how they inspired you."
"Um," I muttered automatically as my brain tried to think of somebody I could talk about. I glanced around the classroom and spotted Kurt sitting in the back row. Kurt had been the first person to be selected and had endured some whispered insults on his way toward the front of the classroom. Still, he had put on a brave face and when the topic of discussing a turning point in his life came up he had bravely talked about how coming out to his father had changed him. Surely if Kurt could do that, I could fumble my way through this topic.
And suddenly I knew who one of the most influential people in my life was.
"Somebody who has been influential in my life has been my stepbrother, Kurt. He amazes me every day with his ability to be himself despite all the adversity that he faces. No matter what others say about him, he continues to stay true to himself. He doesn't give in to the pressures of fitting in that so many of us give in to. No matter how hard things get, he continues to hold onto the hope that tomorrow will be a better day. He's never once lost sight of his goals and dreams that he has for his life. Every day he reminds me through his actions that what matters most is what we do with our lives, how we lived, and the legacy that we leave behind."
Hoping that I had managed to speak long enough for the assignment, I headed back to my desk. As I did, I looked in Kurt's direction. My stepbrother was smiling, and as he caught my gaze he gave me a little smile to let me know he appreciated what I had said. Suddenly the grade on the speech didn't matter to me.