When Hans started at his school 5 years ago, I was
mistaken for his nanny. There must have been several reasons for the confusion
and none of them are useful for the telling of this tale!
That same year, I had my first taste of a school council
at ASid's school where I had to fail and struggle and eventually survive and
triumph.
I kinda lost faith in people in general. I developed an
intense dislike for school councils. Just wanted to become inconspicuous...and
in spite of that resolution, I still ended up attending a school council
meeting at Hans' school. And I am glad I did. That's where I met my mentor,
Lady A. She actually mistook me for a teacher...which really sat well with me!
Lady A, for some reason, believed in me from the first
moment we met. She encouraged me to reconsider school councils. And I did. The
following year, I started off at Hans' school as the Secretary on the School
Council. I still remember the day after the first meeting; I had this man call
out loudly "Secretary!" in my general direction. Well, it was
definitely a step up from nanny (not
really), but how rude! That man is now my friend G. And I still don't get
his sense of humour!
But I digress...
The subsequent year, Lady A showed immense faith again by
training me to be the Treasurer! It was crazy for a girl who loves words to
take on numbers. But when someone shows faith in me, I feel compelled to
"rise to the occasion". So, I did.
This year, both G and I are Co-Chairs on the School
Council. Some say that it is the highest honour a parent can have at his/her
child's school. Maybe so! But for me,
I got to this place because one person believed in me and my capabilities. I
took on roles and responsibilities that I would never have considered. It has
been a wonderful learning experience.
Today, I had lunch with Lady A and I thanked her for the
amazing journey. It really does take one person to change our world. We need
one person to believe in us and we can surprise ourselves.
What I also learnt in the process is that the more
conspicuous we become in the public eye, the more people dislike us or make up
stuff about us. I have never had people not like me and now I have people
openly not like me. It hurt my feelings initially, but now I am almost immune.
At the end of the day, it may be an easy choice to crawl
under a rock and never come out. But then it sure does take some guts to follow
a path someone sets you off on...simply because they believe in you.
Boys, when you find
that person, hang on to him/her. You never know what adventure you will get to
go on!
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