I met Stan at the Mark leadership conference this weekend

This past Saturday I attended Rutgers’ Mark Conference and it was so inspirational, I cried in the first five minutes.

Admittedly, that could just be my sensitivity, but after no more than ten seconds of scanning the room, I found one dude wiping his eyes, unable to take the video he was so desperately trying to get.

There was a palpable energy in the room and every speaker only made it grow more warming.

Alex Sheen, creator of the “Because I Said I Would” organization opened the conference with the story of his father’s death and why keeping one’s word should be valued.

He said he was naive enough to believe that maybe through promises this world can get better.

Rarely do we hear such blind optimism, especially in college where we’re surrounded by moans and groans about how rough everything is.

His words are particularly meaningful to us as we’re in that time when our future could depend on the connections we make and networking we do. It’s about time we learn how to treat each other and share the right values.

Maybe we should all learn to be naive as him, to that extent anyway.

Tim Harris, famous New Mexico restaurant owner with down syndrome, further energized the crowd with his boisterous “Oh Yeah!”’s.

Harris, who danced his way onto the stage, enlightened everyone in the same vein as Sheen.

He said: “Sometimes we need to cut loose and be happy so people know. Don’t complain about the darkness. Be the light.”

It made me question our student body. What are we doing? Nobody should be sitting around campus looking like they want the Rutgers bus to hit them for free tuition. Our time shouldn’t be spent angrily making our way around campus, ranting about why Rutgers sucks.

This is supposed to be the best time of our lives. Regardless of what bad is happening, Harris reminds us we need to pick ourselves back up. There’s no life without struggles, so it’s up to each one of us to show and spread our happiness as often as we can. Harris’ light couldn’t be mistaken and if we can just show a fraction of his energy, the vibe on campus would be truly amazing.

But what hit home for me the most was Kacy Catanzaro’s talk.

During one of the break-out sessions in which everybody had the opportunity to be in a smaller room with the guest speaker of their choice, I chose to have my intimate time with Kacy. She was beyond cool. Much of what she said was about how she broke barriers and set her record by using her haters’ comments as fuel. Many people have told her she couldn’t do something because of her short stature, which I’ve heard too often myself.

In reply to those who dissuaded her, Kacy said: “Maybe I can’t do it the way you’re gonna do it, but I’m gonna reach it my own way.” But her point wasn’t just about being vertically challenged, it can apply to something in all of us. Whether it be being a woman, gay or racially discriminated, we shouldn’t allow others to make us doubt ourselves.

Often people have told me “good luck” after telling them I’m a journalism major or condescendingly laughed at my work. But you know what? I’m only using it as fuel like Kacy. As corny as it sounds, we should all believe in our dreams because people like Kacy prove they can be reached.

To top off the day, I even got to speak with Stan, who received his Mark people’s choice award.

He told me: “This isn’t really my award. It’s our award. We participated in this together.”

This is the last lesson I wished everybody was there to learn was about — community. Stan said he felt a heartbeat with us and that it just clicked. Without him as a leader of inspiration, Stan says we can and should continue to share the love among each other.

The Mark Conference is an unforgettable experience, to say the least. If you need inspiration, take the next opportunity. It only comes once a year.