Jesus, Jocks, and the Jukebox

This weekend I had the privilege to listen to Peter Mansbridge speak at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, and it was amazing.

It was amazing because never in my life have I seen anyone command a room the way he did. Mansbridge is quite the national celebrity, and during his speech this weekend it became very clear to me how he has gained that success.

In a room full of hundreds of people, you could hear a pin drop when he spoke. He was careful with his words, and not because he didn't want to say anything he would regret, but because every word he said had meaning and purpose.

Mansbridge told stories of his amazing career, how it started out, and what it was like to interview the President of the United States, but what stood out was how he told stories of ordinary people. To him, the interviews that really stood out were the ones where he got to tell stories of people who ordinarily wouldn't be able to have their story told. Those are the stories that matter, and those are the stories that affect people.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to end up doing with my life. In some ways, Mansbridge inspires me to be a journalist, but above that, he inspired me to tell peoples stories.

It's amazing how everyone has a story. And whether I become a journalist, or something entirely different, I hope I will continue to have a passion for storytelling, because there are so many people in this world whose stories should be told.