Charlene M. Brown
Who has pushed you in your life? And I’m not talking about your sister or brother who pushed you down the stairs. I’m talking about, Who, in your Life, has challenged you to push the envelope, made you go a little bit further than you thought you could?
Maybe that catalyst for change was a boss or a coach; maybe a teacher or religious leader; or perhaps a parent, sibling, or grandparent; or maybe it was YOU!
Whoever it was, think of how they changed your life. How would your life be different if they hadn’t given you that push? Where would you be now, if not for them!?
For me, it was my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Turner; my seventh-grade Math teacher, Ms. Woodlin, and the high school track and cross country coach, Mr. Gannon. They all told me, showed me, that I could so great things. Later, in college, Ms. Bivins (Momma Bivins), E.R. Braithwaite (he wrote To Sir, With Love), and Dr. Adams all had a similar impact.
Some supported me in whatever decision I made, even if their wisdom told them it was not the best decision for me; some told me good things about myself that I needed to hear from someone else; some demanded excellence; some challenged me not to “slip through the cracks” of Life. Whatever their support method, I remember their influence.
I even had a teacher, who, ten years later(!), still carried around a poem I had written for his class, saying that it had had such a profound effect on him that he wanted to keep it nearby!
WOW! Talk about affecting someone! What I learned that day is that affecting someone is a two way street! You never know the impact you will leave on someone else.
When I was in high school, I was awkward(!), to say the least. I was also considered outspoken. I was probably bold and perhaps even a bit brazen. This put some people off.
However, I found out years later, mostly after graduating college, that people had always respected these very same things that made me so awkward. People had always looked to me to be the one who did her own thing.
Who woulda thought!? Certainly not me! At the time, I felt excluded and angry, not admired and respected.
The effect we have on each other is not measurable in inches or feet, gallons or volumes or square feet, but by the little actions we do in the course of our lives.
Who knows why you collided with this person or that person today!? Just Know and Understand that you did.
It might be taking a stand on an issue, or a quiet pat on the arm, or a warm embrace with a total stranger. Or it might be a poem that you wrote ten years ago, worn and folded inside a wallet. Whatever it takes to “do you”, DO IT!
In many cases, the very people I “collided” into were the ones who had such a profound effect on me by pushing me beyond what I thought my limits were! This is amazing to me!
Take my life as an example, but think about the positive, life-changing effect you can have on someone, just by being exactly who you are! Go! Push someone beyond their limits! (Maybe that someone who needs pushing is YOU!—that’s OKAY!!!)
Do You Love Your Life Now!? I Do!! (because I was Pushed!!)
Related posts:
- Glory Days: Living in the Present and Taking Responsibility!
- Scaring the Skeletons Away!
- Everything I Was Supposed To Learn In College I Already Learned In Kindergarten
- Judging By Your Relatives: Don’t Make That Mistake!
- So Many Bumpy Roads, So Little Time!
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© 2009 You Can Love Your Life Now!
Tags: awkward teenager, charlene brown, charlene brown articles, charli, charli brown, charli brown articles, dare to be you, expectations, outspoken teen, pushing the envelope, slip through the cracks, support network, the effect we have on others, you can love your life now
July 7th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Hey Girl,
I love this! It is a testaament to your profound growth and understanding and accepting of yourself. Who is the teacher with the poem? That’s amazing!
July 7th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Thanks Lady!
Mr. Mealey, ninth grade science teacher. Hopefully, we all keep growing!
You would know about all that growth that I’ve done!
~c