Eye to Eye

When I was growing up, my teachers, parents, and elders always told me to look people directly in the eye when they are speaking. Little did I know at such a young age that this would be a life lesson that would pay off later in my life. I believe in looking them directly in the eye when they are speaking.

Looking people in the eye when they are speaking makes them feel important and it shows that you are paying attention. Also that person will respect you more than an individual that does not look him or her in the eyes. This will be a skill that I will carry with me until the day I die and I know people will respect me for it.

My senior year of high school, my basketball coach was a stern man who expected a lot out of us. He would often get frustrated when players screwed up a drill or a play. Throughout the whole year, whenever my coach explained a drill or a play I would look him directly in the eye. That way, I understood everything that was going to happen in the future and so my coach trusted me and knew I understood directions. The season came to an end and I would find out later how much my coach appreciated the fact that I looked him in the eye every time he spoke.

When our season concluded, we had our end of the year banquet at the local golf course. It was a beautiful setup with Blaine Bengal signs everywhere and a season highlight video playing as you walk through the front door to remember the great season we had. When my coach, spoke about me, he said in a calm yet confident voice “The thing I appreciated the most this season was how Tim Bauer looked me directly in the eye every time I spoke, almost like he could see my soul.” Everyone in the room was surprised, as if they had never seen this side of him before. After he said that statement I looked around the room to see everyone’s reaction and the first thing I noticed was my mom wiping away a single tear that slowly rolled down her face. I thought was significant because my mom was proud of me not as a basketball player but as a man. This was shocking to me because I didn’t know how much looking someone in the eye makes such a great impact on other peoples lives. I believe to look every one directly in the eye when they speak but never realized how much of an impact it made until that moment.

At that moment in my life I knew that skill I had developed while I was a young child had paid off in the end. People will respect me for the rest of my life due to simply looking them in the eye.