When I was in high school. I was pretty cool because I was the president of the men's chorus. *Applause* I know, a lot of you who aren't clapping are just for horrendously jealous of me. I don't blame you I too would be jealous of someone who is president of a club of men who got together at 6:30 in the morning to sing! *Laughter* Yes.
Super cool stuff. But as president of the men's chorus You know I had one responsibility and only one. This is no joke, I had to set up the chairs before anyone else got there. That was all it was.
That is not a joke, I would get there at 6:00 in the morning and set up 70 chairs for rehearsal In all honesty. I don't think president of Men's Chorus was actually something that existed before I got to high school, I think my choir director Mister Bianchi saw me getting there early and my enthusiasm for helping and he's like "hey I don't want to set up these chairs myself. You go set up these chairs Matthew. You're president congratulations" Thank you, Mister Bianchi.
I was like the pity president basically. Cool! So in sophomore year And I'm president of the men's chorus and I'm setting up the chairs in the first couple weeks of school And I noticed that there's this new face, that there's this freshman who I'd never seen before who is sitting kind of off on his own in the corner of the room not really talking to anyone. And I'm the president, I got to make sure that everyone's having a good time at the men's chorus. So I go out And I, you know, sit next to him introduce myself and I quickly learned that his name is Mark, and Mark is kind of funny kid.
He's a bit, he's a bit overweight. He has this high tenor voice, a little crackly at the time, and he walks with this really extreme turnout He has kind of like a duck walk. It's really cute, but at the same time, he's also one of the sweetest most genuine people that you could ever meet. He's fantastic.
He and I become fast friends, because he tells me in that first conversation that he's actually into drama and me being like the total theater geek outside of a being a total choir geek i'm like oh my gosh totally Let's absolutely audition later this week for the show. I'll introduce you to everyone in the club. It'll be awesome You'll have a great time And so we do we go out to the audition Mark gets a minor part in that fall show, which is fantastic for a freshman And I get the nerd role because of course I get the nerd role *In nerdy voice* Hey guys, It's MatPat That's basically the the tone of our life for the next two years right theater and choir So fast forward to my senior year we're driving back in the bus from a choir concert that we had just finished We're sitting in the back of the bus because that's where all the cool kids sit Right? All the cool kids in the back bus People who want to think they're cool sit and, and Mark turns to me and just out of the blue Says hey Matt I want to tell you something important, and I have no idea what he's talking about But I see that we just pulled out to the all you can eat it all you can eat an Italian place that we were going to eat dinner at, so I'm like okay cool. Let's talk about this later I'm gonna go eat some spaghetti, and he pulls me back down and sits me down to the seat He's like no really I want to tell you something important.
I'm like okay. What what's what's up, and he says. Thank you. And I'm like thank you for what? And he's like, thank you for saving my life.
Okay that's That's what he confesses to me in the back of that bus. Two years earlier the week that I am introduced to Mark or That I introduced myself to Mark he had been planning to commit suicide that weekend. He had the plan all made out, he had been having a really hard time in middle school with people making fun of him and, then in high school He was hoping that it would get better, but here was a couple weeks into the year, and it still wasn't. People were still making fun of him for the way, he walked, for his voice, and for his weight He felt like everyone had given up on him.
Everyone except for apparently me, who just because I was trying to be nice, just because I was trying to be inclusive. Went over one morning after I finished setting up those damn 70 chairs and said, Hey, I'm Matthew. What are you into? A conversation as simple as that at 6:15 in the morning at choir Rehearsal is the difference between Mark living and dying? I bring this up for a reason We live today in a world where the internet seems bent or at least feels bent on dividing us, on tearing us apart It feels now more than ever like this tool that was once a way for us to unite intellectually and creatively is now being used to divide us to focus on our differences It's a place where only the drama gets reported. The big and bad news out there.
Discourse is a thing of the past. It's just two groups of people who are shouting at each other why the other side is wrong. It's a place where even creators are approaching the internet, and these online digital platforms with a "Me First" attitude What can I do to get myself ahead doing things like lying about, donating to Locks of Love so you get an extra thousand Instagram followers *applause Like, how stupid is that? Like seriously? Lots of love for cancer patients, and here's the thing. All of you are creators and if not all of you are creators, then all of you are viewers don't fall into those traps.
If you're a creator create a community around yourself, that is supportive and positive. If you're just a viewer, then vote with your view don't support people, or videos who are spewing out that sort of negativity, or using that sort of negativity to grow their own presences. You have that power, you vote with your view. All of us big or small are influencers in some capacity.
Some of us are small influencers, with just our friends and family in our lives, and some of us are big influencers who are talking at the scale of millions on a worldwide stage. But regardless of whether you're a small influencer or a big influencer. As an influencer you have to be a role model, and you are setting a tone for the people in your life, and the people who listen to you. And so I don't know about you, but if I'm going to help shape the future of the internet and where this cultural ecosystem takes us, I want it to be a positive future.
One that is accepting, and loving and kind and nice. But don't forget that first word, most important of all, accepting, because here's the thing. You don't know how many "Marks" are up there watching you. You don't know how many are out there, watching every video that you put up, looking to you for that little glimmer of hope that light to get them to the end of the week.
So sure, do it for the good of your channel, do it for the good of your views, but most importantly of all, do it for Mark. Thanks guys.
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