For example, one fall evening as my father was helping my little sister with her homework he became irritated by her inability to understand a concept. Finally in frustration he stood up, raised his hands and said "Are you stupid?" In my father's defense he had just gotten home from a hard day of work, hadn't eaten his supper yet, and probably was wishing he could just simply watch a little television and chill before he resumed his duties as a family man. I am quite certain he forgot he said those words one hour later but those words echoed in that small child's head for years.
She struggled through grade school and high school still hearing those words. Ten years after high school she fell in love, not with a man but with an occupation. She fell in love with nursing. To be a nurse she had to face her internal fears of inadequacy, she had to go back to school. She had to choose to continue listening to that small voice in her head that told her she wasn't smart enough or to ignore it and do what she loved.
This fairy tale ended "happily ever after". She went to college and graduated top of her class. She is now the lead nurse for the CEO of the medical clinic in Hannibal MO.
Not all our personal stories end well. We must all learn to choose who we are to be. Who we are is our choice. For years I thought I was making a choice by not choosing. I was wrong, because not to choose is to choose. It is a choice not to choose. We must choose who we are to be. We choose to be oppressed and downtrodden or we choose to be happy and leaders. How will you choose today?
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