One day he told me he had been accepted to Army medical school. "I'd like to serve, and I always wanted to be a doctor like my dad." He was thirty plus and married. A big step.
He glossed over that to quip, "I'll have to keep quiet.There aren't many Democrats in the Army." (I laughed, saying there were probably more than the 1% he was guessing at.)
We all wished him well as he went off to a very different life from shuffling papers in cubicles.
After one brief visit with another coworker to his new life a few weeks later, I didn't see him again until my old supervisor's funeral . He had looked only slightly pudgy before, but he was transformed-- fifty pounds or so lost, it looked; his body had shrunk to a whip-thin army-issue frame, including his shoulders.
He told us he was doing well in his studies and the hardest thing for him really was the fitness tests-- keeping up with all those twenty-somethings. Last I heard, he had begun his residency at Walter Reed, seven years ago. I hope he is still carrying out his dream of saving lives. Courage is infectious--just like cowardice and self-interest can be.
I grew up reading bland talk about "inspirational" people who do things we wouldn't want to do, face challenges we can't imagine, or have lots of money or fame. In short, not "us."
As a disabled person, I've been called "inspirational" in the same manner. That label felt patronizing-- both praising and damning in the same breath: reminded that I am not part of "us" but yet, worthy of notice. If they knew me, I think, then I might believe them-- but all they know is my differences. They don't even know if I'm a good or bad person.
I am inspired or discouraged mostly by whoever I know as people. I am particularly inspired by friends who live according to their values and beliefs even when the road ahead looks unbearably hard-- and being kind to others as well. They may not be successful or sure of themselves, they may make mistakes.That's why they're inspiring. They're us and they're doing their best with what life gives them.