For Christmas all she wanted was to be taken out of school (because she didn't want to do the debate).
For her birthday, all she wanted was to be taken out of school. Yes, because of the debate.
Tears. Frustration. So much research. More tears. I hate school. More tears.
Mom instincts kick in and I wanted to protect her. I wanted her to not feel the stress. I didn't want her to worry about talking in front of her peers. I was tempted to let the teacher know what kind of stress this was causing her.
I decided not to. I decided to cheer her on. She didn't see it as cheering. She saw it as more torture.
She researched. She stressed. She wrote out her note cards. She wrote her speech. She practiced. She timed herself. We found more information for her to add to her note cards. She refined her speech and added a story to tear at their hearts. She practiced even more. Daily. She asked us to come up with questions that she would need to answer.
She was prepared. She was prepared for this debate by mid January. I figured the end was near. The stress level was very high for her. I wanted it to end. Then I found out that her debate wasn't until Feb 14.
She still practiced. She still stressed. She still hated school.
The debate came.
She nailed it. Her teacher told her how impressed she was. Jaley was prepared. She was the only one in her group to get a perfect score.
I don't see anymore tears. I don't hear her utter "I hate school." ... now it is "I don't want to go to school" - middle-school age kids. Need I say more? I didn't like middle school either. I wish I sailed through middle school with the confidence and finesse that Julia and Jenna had.
I'm proud of you Jaley. It is through experiences like this that we grow. Painful, yes. Empowering, definitely.
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2 comments:
I am soooo so proud of you Jaley!!! (and of you mom :)) Sure love you! What a refreshing story!
Thanks Wendy for the sweet comment (even though you highjacked your friend's login) ;o)
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