The Desire to Make a Difference Motivates All I Do.

In high school, I had a nickname, “Little Monster,” that kids screamed into my face or used to tease boys about me being their girlfriend. As you can imagine, it made me feel like I wanted to disappear. I ran home every day and grabbed a book in the silence of my home, where my mother did not speak to us. In the books, I found a place for solace and joy in a depressing world. I was so disgusted with school, which was bad because I loved learning (and still do as I am in college) that when I graduated, I said that I would never find myself among “those people” again.

But I am planning on December 20 and 21 to attend the 55th High School Reunion because it’s time to move on. I probably won’t know anyone because I had no friends in my grade, only a best friend who was a year ahead. But, I want to teach my grandchildren and great-grandchildren that sometimes you can’t allow the past to still haunt you and control your movements in life. I want to show them that forgiveness is freeing to oppressed and oppressors. Of course, they were teenagers fooling around, and I very much doubt they have thought of me at all unless they were on Facebook and saw a post.

The desire to make a difference guides my every move, to teach others lessons that I learned the hard way so that they can have an easier time in this life. Whether it was adopting my nieces and nephews at age 21, going to college at 36, and completing a doctorate at 54, I wanted to prove to people that we can do the seemingly impossible if we take risks and walk down paths unknown and look very scary. As a college professor and a continuing student, I tried to motivate young students to believe in their abilities, their value, and their worth and to not just want a degree to earn a paycheck but to also give back something to the world. My motto: Be givers and not takers. You are not owed anything just because you were born.

So, as I work to complete another Master’s degree, I am motivating the younger members of my family to embrace the power of education to help us make a difference in the world, to be someone who works for the changes in the world they want to see. It starts with each of us, and I am actually looking forward to seeing some people at the reunion and meeting others. I have come a long way from the scared girl who felt irrelevant and useless because of that nickname. I am a successful mother, professor, student, preacher, and human being. Who can ask for anything more?