Failure is Terrified of Success
Thank You Notes #2
She taught me how to make failure fear me.
I am a child trapped in a fifty-year-old body. Lol, I am at my happiest around children. They help me to forget the cruelty and sadness our world shares with humanity.
I believe that parents are the first teachers, so I teach my children before school enrollment. I also reinforced what was taught in class daily. I think children should enter school literate; parents must play an active role in their children’s education. I aimed to make the teacher’s job easier. So in an oversize classroom, he/she won’t have to worry about my children.
Our classroom size of a minimum of forty students and only one teacher contributes to children slipping through the cracks. I was one of them — no slipping for mine. Plus, I demand my money’s worth. Education in my country isn’t free, and not many scholarships are available.
My son’s sixth grade had 59 children with one teacher. She was magnificent.
Depending on the independence of a child, Basic School accepts children at three years old. My sons entered knowledgeably. Then Infant School at four years old and Primary School at six. High School at twelve years old, and if they want to do two years in the Sixth form, they leave at nineteen years old.
In the first grade, I got third and fourth in class. For the second grade, I got second and fourth. Third and fourth for the third grade. Different children each year except for the first place. One girl beat everyone for three years straight. She was said to be the brightest. I decided to prove she wasn’t.
I bought books that the teacher uses. I send them to extra lessons in the fourth grade, plus I teach them on the weekends. So a competition began. I lost, again. I couldn’t understand. All of my efforts, time, and money, and I was defeated.
At the start of the fifth grade, I went to pick my sons up one evening, and she was in the classroom alone sweeping. In my country, teachers would assign a group of children to clean up the classroom after lunch and dismissal weekly.
To be creative, the teacher gives each group a name after a fruit. Her group name was Apple, and their names would be on the whiteboard under a picture of an apple. So that week, all members of the Apple group were responsible for keeping the classroom clean. Most children obey the rules, especially if the teacher is in the classroom.
I asked, “where are the others?” “They took their bags and left as soon as Miss walked out,” she said, with a smile.
I stared at her in wonder. She wasn’t angry or resentful because they left all of the cleanings on her. I grabbed a broom, and together, we swept. For the rest of the week, we cleaned up together.
Danielle was her name, and she had the most beautiful heart.
She wanted to be a doctor, so she asked her Mom to buy her a first aid kit, which she takes to school and assists any child who gets hurt.
My heart fell in love with her.
She was different; so many children would take advantage of her kindness. Because of that, she mostly stays to herself.
She never complained, and we became friends. I learned how disciplined she was and how it has contributed to her topping the class annually. She did her best in everything, and it spills over in her schoolwork.
She taught me that you would leave no space for failure when you do your best every time. Thus, failure will become afraid of you, opening the door to Progress.
Some of the best things I learned in life, I learned from children.
I also learned that failure is terrified of Prosperity. My competition ended that day, and we became friends. She was only eleven years old.
She topped the school and beat every child in her final year. Her average was 96%. My sons were 95% and 94%. I have seen her several times over the years. She is in University today, and she still has a beautiful heart.
I pray for her success. Today, I thanked Danielle for teaching me to do my best in everything I do, even without reward. She taught me how to make failure fear me.
Defeat teaches more lessons than winning, and with wisdom, I learn from Failure without failing.
Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it. Please enjoy more from other writers on this platform.
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