I recently attended a school board meeting for my district here in Illinois. Sadly, it's the first meeting of this sort that I have attended. I guess I found the business they were conducting to be important enough for me to put my own personal busy schedule aside.

At this particular meeting they were going to discuss the annual budget and make recommended cuts. Unfortunately, here in Illinois, as in many other states, the poor economy has made it difficult to attain the necessary funds needed to continue with the previous year's budget. Now I'm not writing to discuss my opinion of the proposed cuts. Rather, I want to discuss what I saw and learned at this meeting.

I saw a large group of students and parents stand up for what they believed to be most important to them. Students ranging from 6^th to 12^th grade stood up in front of the School Board, parents and fellow peers, and voiced their opinions. I just happened to be sitting right next to the microphone and could see many of them shaking from fear as they spoke. But the part that got me was the passion with which they spoke. They spoke from their heart. They found the cause to be much bigger than their fears. Some spoke so eloquently, while others quite plainly, but either way it was passionate. The parents also spoke with passion, but it was the students that stuck out to me.

What I learned from this meeting is that it is never convenient to stand up for something we believe in. It will most likely scare us to death (mostly because we care so much), and although this fear is often necessary in order to reap the greatest reward, I think we often stand back and wait for those we consider to be leaders to do the right thing. We don't get involved, but pass judgment when decisions are made that are not what we would consider to be "right".

The challenge I have given to myself and offer to you, is to get involved in the things that matter most to you. Let your voice be heard. I learned a lot from those students on that night. Yeah, things still may not come out exactly as you had hoped, but at least you had a voice. Plus, isn't it hard to complain about something you have put no effort into changing?

What is your passion? What matters to you? Where can you get involved - in the federal government, the local government, the school district, or how about the church?

Mr. Mark Etting