The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Jay F. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Book Report on Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Do Hard Things. Who would believe that behind a title as simple as this lay a book with messages that are both true and relevant for not only teens, but for people of all ages and backgrounds? Not me, that's for sure. When I looked at the cover of Do Hard Things, I thought "Oh no. Another book telling teens how much they need to pull themselves together, do more, and work harder. These poor authors' parents must have forced them to write this book in the hopes that teens would listen to a couple of their peers. I hear this from adults all of the time; I don't need to hear it again." However, when I began reading, I was pleasantly surprised. This was no typical "improve your teen" book. This was a book written by teens for teens as a challenge for us to change the low expectations the world has of us by showing them the positive things we can accomplish.
As I went through the book, my eyes were glued to the pages as I read tale after tale of teens that wanted to be successful, but hadn't been putting forth the necessary effort needed to get the job done. Instead of waiting for their situations to improve, however, they decided that it was their responsibility to make the changes, and went above and beyond what was expected and required of them to make their lives into what they needed to be.
In an effort to give us some first-hand examples of how they accomplished difficult things, the authors, Alex and Brett Harris, talked about some of the things they were involved in that pushed them to their limits. One of those challenges was when the Harris boys were invited to apply for an internship at the Alabama Supreme Court. They were shocked by this offer due to the fact that these positions were normally reserved for undergraduate and law school students. How could they, at sixteen, even be considered for these positions? As it turned out, the attorney in charge of the program had been reading their blog, and was very impressed. He was so impressed, in fact, that he recommended them to the positions, and even managed to get the normal age requirement waived. After an agonizing wait, they finally received the decision: they had both been accepted into the program, and would serve as the youngest interns in the Alabama Supreme Court's history. So here they were, in a position no one their age had ever been in, about to do things that no one their age had ever done. Were they nervous? Yes. Did they allow their nervousness to keep them from doing the job that God had placed in front of them? Not at all. In fact, these young men went above and beyond the call of duty, continuing to surprise their fellow workers with their skill, dedication, and aptitude to handle each task they received. Each time they succeeded, they were entrusted with more and more responsibility, and each time they met the challenges head on. By the time their period of service was over, they had learned two valuable lessons: 1. How to be successful interns in the Alabama Supreme Court, and 2. Even though tasks may seem too great for us, God will always allow us to work through them if doing so will help us change the world.
Needless to say, when I finished reading, I was very impressed. The fact that the Harris brothers not only found so many stunning examples of such dynamic teens and the challenges they had overcome, but wrote a book about how we could do the same, left me in a state of shock. I thought, "if these guys did all of this at my age, then I have no reason not to have a dynamic impact for Christ and His kingdom."
