 Image from sheknows.co.uk. If you want to get right in your head, at peace with your soul, talk to a seven-year-old. I spent the last week chewing on journals from my past, while at work I talked with my students about their future. We've been reading articles about people who made great contributions to the world. One person we read about, then watched a video on, was Mae Jemison. She was the first African-American in space, but that's not what the children and I thought was so special about her. What we dug the most was the fact that on her eight day trip to space, she took items with her to represent "people who aren't always included." She thought it was important! So did we. The children and I swapped stories about times when we felt left out and came to the conclusion that nobody should ever have to feel that way. We also thought that everyone should have a chance to make whatever dreams they wish come true. We also liked that as a child, she was obsessed with going into space and she did everything she could to see that dream through.
At the end of that lesson, I asked all of the children, "If you were going to send a letter to yourself thirty years into the future, what would you tell grown-up you?" Most told me they'd remind their older self to be kind to others (...which made me wonder if they felt like once you grow up, you somehow outgrow kindness). My favorite answer, however, was, "I'd tell myself to never give up on your dreams." One young lady looked at me very seriously and said, "Just don't quit, no matter how hard it is. Don't quit." I replied, "I hope on that thirty-year-day, you'll remember exactly what you told me." She hugged me tight and I sent her back to class. Funny that I am now the age their "30-year-old" selves would be when that letter arrived. They may forget this activity with me and the letters they'd sent to themselves, but I'm going to tuck all of those letters inside my heart and take them with me every step of the way into my future. I can't think of anyone else giving me more expert advice!
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About The Author
I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter. Archives
August 2021
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