There will always be those who doubt your ability, but as long as that person on the other side of the mirror has faith in you…you will remain in control.

A lesson at an early age

Some of my earliest memories are from my Kindergarten years.  There are some details from that period of my life that I will never forget and a few examples are:

1.) My best friend’s name was Trevor.

2.) One of my classmates had a jheri curl (believe it or not, I was actually jealous of his hairstyle at the time —I know, I know–I didn’t know any better).

via GIPHY

3.) My imaginary friends were JJ and Tatone (don’t ask me where I came up with those nicknames but my guess is that JJ came from watching old reruns of Good Times).

4.) I had a crush on a girl named Monique.

5.) I was almost put into remedial classes.

Almost what?!?

Let’s pause after that last one.  Almost put into remedial classes as a 5 year old?? Yup! You read that correctly and, to make matters worse, this was also back in the days when corporal punishment was still allowed in certain schools. With that said, I can vividly remember countless times being yelled at during school and having my hand spanked for “not paying attention.”  In my teacher’s eyes, I couldn’t possibly be paying attention because I never answered correctly when called on.

Finally, one day while riding home with my parents after school I said something along the lines of:

“Look at the sun…it’s a lot of suns.”  

As my parents tried to convince me that I was talking about the moon or the stars, I finally pointed up at the street lights and said, “No,the sun! The sun!”  That’s when it dawned on them–I needed glasses.  After getting glasses, I literally had a new outlook on life and I returned to school eager to prove to my teacher that, contrary to her belief, I had actually been one of the brightest kids in class all along.

My confidence soared!

Having vision also finally gave me the chance to really see how my crush Monique looked–she was even more beautiful than I anticipated.  So one day, not long after getting my glasses, I built up the courage to offer her my Mickey Mouse Cookbook in exchange for her heart.  Her response:

“Eww, no way…you’re a nerd now.”

Slightly bummed by that response, I wasn’t completely heartbroken; however, because I ended up getting really good at making pancakes that summer!  On a much larger scale, I learned far more than just how to make pancakes.  I learned, from that tender age, not to ever let anyone categorize me.

There will always be those who doubt your ability. Just remember, as long as that person on the other side of the mirror has faith in you…you will remain in control.