English 10-01-2008

Matthew Capelli

Matthew Capelli was the turning point in my life because he changed my entire being for the better. He made me more sociable, strengthened my Christianity, and increased my belief in myself. He was able to relate to me in a way that no one else could. He made me feel like I really did have a place to be. I was given hope in a hopeless world. I learned more from him in four days than I was able to learn in my four years of high school. I learned lessons that will stick by my side for the rest of my life.
Matthew Capelli works for Michelin in the tire testing division. We met at a summer program called Business Week where groups of teenagers form 'companies' and compete for the best market. He and I clicked from the very beginning. Matthew was the beginning of the life I will lead until I die.
Just a few years ago, I was shy and anti-social. I wanted to talk to people, but I just didn't know how. Matthew knew I ate alone, walked alone, and did everything alone. Two days into Business Week, he sat at my usual breakfast table and struck up a conversation. That day, I made friends with the best person you could ever possibly meet. He helped me open up, not only to him, but to all of the other adult supervisors. I was able to talk to them how I had wished to and I couldn't stop. Everything that came to mind just flew on out of my mouth and I was comfortable saying it. When it was time to leave, I made a vow to myself that the next year, I would make friends on my own. This past summer, I made more friends than I could have imagined. I became the 'CEO' of my 'company' and was able to introduce some of the guest speakers. I had a special conversation with him thanking him for everything that he had ever done for me. I told him about how my senior year had gone and about all of the accomplishments I had achieved. He was proud of the both of us.
Matthew was, and still is, a very religious man. Every morning, he got up and led a Devotional at 7:30 in the morning. When he and I first talked, we mostly talked about Christ and his plan for us. I am Catholic, but never had I been introduced to a way of worship quite like Matthews. He sang his praise and said his prayers as if God were his best friend. I, being raised as a devout Catholic, had learned about sincere and secretive prayer. I was inspired by his free spirit and outspoken Christianity. I went to Devotional when he began talking to me. In this week, he told me the story of his life and how the Lord saved him from going down the wrong path. He taught me how to pray over my meals with a personal touch. We would pray over each meal together and thank Him afterwards. Matthew saved me from a life I was going into. He reintroduced me to God and renewed my Faith in Him.
My self esteem has always been pretty low. I could never read a paper aloud or do a presentation without shaking or severely messing up. During Business Week, they had Talent Night. Matthew was the head of Talent Night and I wanted to show him my talent to perform. I brought my talent on my USB drive. It was an animation with stick people singing and dancing to the song 'I Like to Move It, Move It'. I showed the animation to Matthew and he loved it. The only problem was that there was no way I was getting up on a stage in front of 200 people to introduce it. Matthew took care of that in a heartbeat. That night, he got up of that stage and told them that I had made something special for them but I was shy. He had them give me a huge round of applause beforehand. Before the animation, I was so nervous that the audience wasn't going to like it. I was so nervous about their reaction. During the presentation, the crowd was dancing and hollering along with the song. After it was finished, I turned around to acknowledge the clapping and saw a standing ovation. When I faced them, the sounds of the cheering sent a feeling through me that I had never had before. Right then, I had never been more proud of myself. I had people talking to me and congratulating me all night. They commented that they would have never guessed that about me. My senior year, I did many more animations and videos for my projects in school. I uploaded them onto YouTube and sent the links to Matthew to have him approval.
In the end, Matthew was the inspiration that changed my life forever. He is everything that I want to be. I can only hope that I am able to change someone who was like me in the way that he was able to change me. I still keep in contact with him through email and he continues to inspire me to this day. He will forever have a special place in my heart. The man who ended the life I had known and replaced it with a new and improved one.