Even You Can Inspire Those Around You

So this morning while I was at work checking my email, I received, perhaps, the nicest email that has ever been written to me. After reading it, I wrote back and asked if I could post this and was given the green light.

Hi Geoff,

I came to SCAD as a young aspiring Rrrrrrising STAAAAAR! When I was
there you were an RA or some sort of administrative something or other.

You made enough of an impression on me that I, to this day, remembered
your first name. I also remembered a time-based-type piece you did for
a scene in Blackhawk Down, which was one of the first pieces I saw
that drove me to study mograph at SCAD.

Anyway today someone just emailed me about a piece I did from a scene
in Pulp Fiction asking if I "invented" time based type. Hilarious. But
then I started thinking about where the inspiration for that piece
came from, and I remembered your Black Hawk Down piece that made such
an impression. Such an impression that it immediately popped to mind
when I had the same assignment 3 years later. That piece is why I
chose a clip with two characters having an intense dialogue. That's
when I began my rampant internet search to find your video. To no
avail, I'm afraid.

So I went on a googlethon trying to put Geoff, scad, and blackhawk
down together. I also randomly remembered "off-brand", but that ended
up being a dead-end leading only to a piece in Nagle's pdf portfolio.
The name "Nagle" only brought back memories of a goatee. Eventually,
being the supersleuth that I am, I found you.

I thought you'd like to know that you inspired someone to jump into
mograph, and were largely responsible for the clip I chose to make the
Pulp Fiction piece. So thanks. I hope you are still making stuff that
inspires you, and potentially long-haired high-schoolers. Not to brag
or anything of the sort, but for your interest and hopefully delight,
I ended up being the student of the year in broadcast design for 2008.

And send me your Blackhawk Down Piece if you still have it. I would
love to indulge in the nostalgia.

best and good luck,

Jarratt

I was totally thrown back in my seat after reading this.  To some it might not seem like that big a deal, but to me, knowing that I was able to make an impression on somebody, to encourage somebody, and to inspire somebody without even realizing it really made me think.  Whether we realize it or not, the interactions we have with people that may seem mundane and ordinary may turn out to be profound and extraordinary.  Don't pass up the opportunity to make an impact. Take every chance to influence those within your circle. The way you carry yourself day to day and the character that you develop within yourself shows up in emails like this one and prove to be worth the effort. 

Now, with no further ado, "Black Hawk Down Time-Based Typography Animation" from my first motion graphics class.

Jarratt recently graduated and took a job working for Favorite Color, a studio out of New York City.  Jarratt, your reel looks great.  So cool that I was able to play a part in inspiring somebody as talented as you are.