Creating 2015—Day 14:   “Start Here…Go Anywhere”

Lisa Gibson, the secretary of North Harrison R-III—my old high school—recently contacted me.  She was reaching out about a special project she’s doing this year and wanted to know if I would I be interested in participating.  I absolutely LOVE her idea!  I’ll let her describe it in her own words…

“For the coming school year I am planning a bulletin board program entitled, “Start here….go anywhere!.” With this I will post a US and world map and mark the location of a graduate. I will also post a biography or timeline of the graduate’s education and work experiences and photos of you on the job or at a special moment. I was hoping you would be a part of this program and help remind our students that they can go anywhere!”

The hair gives away the decade!

How fun is that?!  And in the town I grew up in and went to high school, it’s really, really, really important. Why?  Well, said town, Eagleville, Missouri, has a population of 381.  It would be much higher if you counted the local livestock.  But, sticking with people, the town is tiny.  It’s a close-knit, kind community filled with what my brother Billy Dean would call, “good folks.”  I’m proud of where I come from.  My Dad went to the same high school and was class president.  But when you live in a town that small, sometimes it’s hard to realize how big the outside world is and that that world is just waiting to be discovered!

I filled out the form Lisa sent me, included some pictures and emailed it back to her.  I really hope her project is a hit with the kids and inspires them to think and dream bigger than they might be currently thinking or dreaming.  Not that you have to move half way across the country from your hometown after high school or college, but it’s a possibility.

Thank you for sharing your project with me and asking me to be a part of it, Lisa!  And thank you for reminding me that ideas have the power to inspire.

Until tomorrow, create from what you have…ideas to inspire others.

Kelli Joan Bennett is a filmmaker, actress, writer, entrepreneur, advocate for creative thinking and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Think Outside The Box Inside The Box Media.

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