“A Different Perspective”
By: Scott Bohanon

(Stage is dark.) Hello. Hello! Is anyone there? We’ve all experienced moments like these. Moments, where even in a room filled with hundreds of people, we feel alone. Moments when you’re tired and far past your breaking point. Moments where it feels like your whole world has come to an end and all you can see is darkness. There is one specific time in my life that I felt these emotions. (Lights fade in.) It was right after my high school graduation at Camp Hickory Hills in Dickson, TN. But first let me give you a little background info. As most of you know I am a Type I Diabetic and have been for 13 years now. My family has been praying for me to be cured for as long as I can remember. For the longest time, my mother felt like I’d be healed by my 18th birthday, so that summer at camp I was getting excited! June 4th rolls around, the day after my birthday, and sure enough nothing had changed. I was pretty much heartbroken, devastated, my world filled with darkness. Sure it was a long shot to wish for, but at that moment any hope that I had of being cured was shattered. I began to do what anyone would do, by breaking down and asking God “Why me?” “Why get my hopes up and take it away just like that?” I took a walk that night and found a quiet spot on the pavement; this is where I sat for the next 45 minutes thinking about life. Trying to find a light in a world full of darkness.

It’s moments like these we have a choice to make. You see, everyday that we live our lives we choose how to view the world around us and the encounters we face. Perspective is defined as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. When we are in those moments of darkness, it’s up to us to find a positive perception, by making an effort to discover hope, initiate action, and share our story.

I can remember one dark, stormy night when I was a young boy. The wind was howling like nothing I had ever heard before, causing me to wake up in the middle of the night. (Look out window on stage) Being the curious person that I am, I peered out the window to look at the storm; right then lightning struck and before me stood a horrifying monster. I remember calling out for my mom and dad to come help me. Granted it was just a flash of lightning reflecting off the trees, I was terrified! Needless to say, curtains came soon after that (Hang curtains on window and shut them). With those curtains came a lot of darkness and fear of what was on the other side. To this day I still get the heebie-jeebies as I pull back the curtains thinking that someone or something might just be standing there. I got so used to looking at a closed off window. I let that one situation take control of allowing me to see all the beauty that was on the other side.

This is when we have a decision to make. You can either keep those same, old perceptions living your life in your sorrows, stresses, and fears, or you can rally the courage to get up and regain control of your own life by opening up your curtains, or in this sense, your view.

Hopefully, a situation is coming to mind. We’ve seen some awesome FFA talent up here and maybe you thought about participating but you didn’t apply because you thought you weren’t good enough, so you leave the rest of your singing career in the shower. Perhaps you really, really want to try out for your high school basketball team. You’ve been practicing day after day and you’re more than ready, but you never walk through those gymnasium doors because you think everyone may laugh at you just because you don’t “look” like an athlete. Let’s ponder for a moment what we want to accomplish in our own lives and those perceptions that you have been getting comfortable with. What’s holding us back? A lot of times, it’s simply fear, fear of the unknown. Fear because in a former situation, just like my stormy experience, we saw a monster.

Speaking of monsters