If I knew then…
She curiously gazed out into the dark blue sea of stars shining brightly above us. Taking my arm, we began our walk around the neighborhood – territory unfamiliar to her, yet entirely familiar to me.
As we passed the front gate to my old junior high I saw my younger self standing on the other side – angry, depressed, alone and contemplating the massacre of the entire student body. Becoming fully present to my current reality, I felt unconditional love emanating from the angel whose arm was locked with mine. And in that instant I felt incredible gratitude for every person who had contributed to my growth through adversity.
I smiled and told my younger self, “In 15 years you’re going to walk past this gate with a beautiful woman on your arm – but not just any woman – a woman whose light shines brighter than most people you’ll ever meet. A woman who will be the catalyst for living the life of your dreams. And when you walk past this gate with her, you’ll never, ever look back…”
My attention was brought back to the conversation with the angel before me, who continued to smile and laugh – completely oblivious to the lifetime of healing that had just taken place for me in the time span of just a few seconds.
But my story doesn’t end there.
My story has just begun.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to everyone who chooses to march to the beat of their own drum; to the students both past, present and future who have been misled by our society to mistakenly believe that test scores and letter grades mean something about who we are and what we are capable of…
To those who have been labeled as ‘defiant,’ ‘a freak,’ ‘out of control,’ ‘crazy,’ ‘a lost cause’ or similar terms – this book was written for you to find comfort in knowing that you are not broken and you do not need to be fixed just because someone else believes there is something wrong with you.
No matter how rocky your road is – no matter what the adults in your life tell you about who you should be and what you ought to do, no one has the right to tell you what the correct way is for you to live your life – not even your parents and teachers. No matter how much the people in your life love and support you, no one else can make your choices for you; no one can be the authority on your life other than you!
Take what others say with a grain of salt. Be a filter, not a sponge. Only through discovering your own wisdom and following your own path in life will you discover what it means to be YOU.
NEXT: Introduction
February 21, 2012 1 Comment