My entire childhood, I was told I would never amount to anything. I felt rejected as a human being, unworthy to stand among my siblings let alone my peers. When those words hit me, they made me fight harder for some kind of recognition from my parents.
I remember the day like it was yesterday, standing at the buffet in the dining room with my report card. I was in fourth grade. My mother looked at mine and told me I would never do better. Then she looked at my brother’s report card and scolded him for not doing better. I determined right then that I would prove them wrong. I would do better. However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t please my parents, particularly my mother.
I did prove myself – to me.
- I graduated in the top third of my high school class
- I graduated with top marks from a nurse’s aid program
- I graduated from boot camp
- I graduated from college with near honors
- I got married
- I have children
- I’m an author
There’s a lot more achievements in my life, but those were far from the expectations of my parents. Even when I gave my parents my first book, I didn’t feel the approval I hoped to see from them. However, I don’t need their approval, I have God’s approval and that means more to me than any perceived failure I lived with throughout my childhood.
I am not a failure. I walked the hard road to success.
What’s your story? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading. The image belongs to me – my eighth grade photo.
valerie writes 
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