I often look up at the clouds and think about where I’ve been and where I want to go.
When I reflect on my childhood, my earliest memories are when I was 6 years old and a student in Mrs. Davis’ first grade classroom at Hueytown Elementary School. Each day she greeted me and my peers at the door with a warm smile and a hug. I vividly recall her classroom being neat and orderly and all of the students being on task. I even remember our small reading groups, where I read out of the textbook titled, Sally, Dick, and Jane. Because of Mrs. Davis’ influence and inspiration, one day I asked her “How do I become a teacher?” She replied, “You have to work hard and go to college.” From that day through the end of the school year, she would give me extra worksheets at the end of the school day to take home and play school. That’s exactly what I did! I would play school with my brother, my friends, and sometimes my dolls. In all instances, I mirrored the lessons that Mrs. Davis taught me during class. One day, as the dolls “listened”, I explained the lesson and modeled the assignment while writing on my pink bedroom walls. Unbeknownst to me, my mother was standing at my door watching me and suddenly she said, “Darling, I know you are going to be a teacher someday.”
We all have dreams. When the music group Destiny’s Child was interviewed after getting a Hollywood Star, Beyoncé responded, “We started when we were 9 years old and here we are getting a Hollywood Star – dreams come true.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zZDYztq9iQ
Ricky Martin, music superstar and children’s author, began performing when he was 12 years old and expressed that his parents knew that he “wanted this so much” when talking about becoming a performer.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=245749091
Ron Clark, co-founder of The Ron Clark Academy, knew that he wanted to start a school that was “full of color, life, energy, and where kids would love it.”
http://www.pba.org/programming/programs/thisisatlanta/ronclark/
Finally, Simone Biles, Olympic gymnast who appeared in her first Olympic games in 2016, said “I was built this way for a reason so I am going to use it.”
https://www.olympic.org/news/biles-makes-dreams-come-true-in-rio
Beyoncé, Ricky Martin, Ron Clark, and Simone Biles focused on their dreams of becoming what they were meant to become. Through discipline, hard work, a commitment to learn, perseverance, and the support of others, they were able to see their dreams come.
My dream of becoming a teacher was also realized.
Perhaps, one of the best things about dreams is that once you achieve them, there are still more dreams to imagine.
Dream BIG and give it all you’ve got! Enjoy the journey!