Waterfall moments and jump tricks with speaker Dave Jonsson
October 19, 2017
“Our purpose here on Earth is not to cause hate, but to inspire love,” says speaker Dave Jonsson. A sponsored skateboarder, and public speaker for youth, Jonsson came to share his experiences and stories with grade 9 and 10 students at RE Mountain Secondary on October 18.
He recounted his life in school, and life with his family. Being from Iceland, when he came to Canada he was the awkward kid in his class. He shared his embarrassing stories from his first few weeks in school, being the new kid without any friends.
Years later, when he was eighteen years old, Dave was in an airplane crash with three of his friends. The small craft crashed into the woods in Indian Arm and Dave’s best friend, the pilot, was killed. Dave discussed with the assembly how he felt in those moments, when he thought he was going to die.
“I don’t fear flying,” he said. “I fear feeling how I felt then.” He recalled being filled with regret. After his parents divorce, he became estranged from his family, and an angry person. While the plane was going down, he remembered feeling that he had treated those in his life poorly. This was what he refers to as his “waterfall moment”, because of a beautiful waterfall he witnessed moments before the tragedy.
He imparted on the assembly the importance of words. He encouraged students to be people that others will want to remember fondly, to be uplifting and encouraging people. “I think we’re all on a journey, learning how to love each other,” says Dave.
Apart from stories, Dave invited a group of students to come forward to demonstrate their abilities with a skateboard. Following this, he had the same students lay down under a ramp, where he jumped over the the line of students, clearing them by several feet. Vice Principal Chandra Balakrishnan also lined up below the ramp with the students where Dave repeated the feat.
After the assembly, students were encouraged to come forward and talk with Dave, as well as share in some skateboarding time.
For more information about Dave and his story visit: davejonsson.com