W03 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

I liked reading about integrity this week.  I think that it's something that we are starting to lose in our society.  President Joseph F. Smith called integrity "the cornerstone of character," which I couldn't agree more.  It is a vital character to have in all relationships, from being a husband/wife to being a coworker, friend, or leader.  It means to do the right thing, even when it's the hardest choice to make! 

 It reminds me of a story from when I was younger.  When I was in middle school or early high school, I was doing some work for my grandpa in his backyard.  He lives on about two acres, and about 1.5 of those acres is garden.  It's quite large.  Me and my younger brother, who was in 6th grade, were moving manure that had just been dropped off.  We were driving one of his old Chevy trucks that he prized greatly.  On one of the loads, I started backing up to turn the truck so the bed was closer to the garden, making it easier to unload the manure.  While I was backing up, I was preoccupied with the left side of the truck due to how tight the trail was around the garden.  I was making sure not to hit his other equipment that sat along the edge of the property.  Meanwhile, I did not realize that I was turning too sharp.  My younger brother standing in the back, realized that I was on track to hit the rototiller on the near side.  My brother froze and was not able to stop me in time.  By the time he came back to his senses and yelled, I had already left a 2-foot long scratch along the side of the truck bed.  I can't tell you how nervous I was to go tell my grandpa.  I knew that he absolutely loved his old Chevy pickup trucks.  He always had about 5 or 6 trucks sitting on the edge of his property line, and he was always working on them.  It was my fault, and I knew it.  9th grade me briefly thought about not telling my grandpa, but I knew that was wrong.  I sheepishly walked over to the back porch of my grandpa's house, only to find him visibly upset with my cousin who had just broken his lawnmower (This other cousin had done a few things that day that had built up his frustration.) Now I really didn't want to tell him what I did!  I decided to just rip off the bandaid and tell him straight away anyway.  I was expecting the frown on his face to sink further.  It didn't.  Instead, it turned into a big smile and chuckled.  I was confused. 

He then went on to tell me a story of when he was in high school, just a couple of years older than I was at the time.  

For some context, he grew up in Caldwell, Idaho on his family farm.  Money was tight, and his dad was always tough on him, as was a lot of the farming culture back then.

My grandpa's dad had bought a new truck.  It was somewhat out of the norm for them back then.  My grandpa thought it was the coolest truck ever.  He finally had the courage to ask his dad if he could drive it to a school dance.  Surprisingly, his dad agreed but gave him a warning to drive carefully.  He obviously agreed.

The night of his school dance, he dropped off his date extremely late.  So late that he was starting to feel drowsy.  After driving for a while, he fell asleep at the wheel.  Luckily, he wasn't driving too fast.  He drifted off the road, and he ran into some bushes that completely scratched up the right side of the truck.  He was mortified when he woke up.  The truck was fine, but the paint job was completely ruined.  He drove home and was terrified to tell his dad.  He couldn't sleep all night.  At the crack of dawn, he woke up and went to his father.  He told him everything that had happened.  He braced as he finished the story, assuming that his dad would get the belt. 

His dad replied, "Son, they sell paint," as he walked out the door.  

My grandpa stood there shocked.  

My grandpa then turned back to look at me after sharing this story.  He smiled and said the same thing,  "Carson, they sell paint."

I was so grateful for being honest with my grandpa.  It built our relationship more, and I was able to learn about forgiveness as well.  From then on, I have treasured this story.  I know that this was much more than, what is expected of this assignment, but it was good to reminisce on this memory.  That's what I learned this week!