Nothing is more frustrating to me than when someone thinks I’m not good enough or smart enough. It angers me when someone doubts my ability. I’m the type of person who takes pride in doing things for myself. I teach myself how to do things so I don’t have to ask for help. In fact, I hate asking for help! I work hard to learn, achieve, and conquer. I like to be good at everything. I probably need to work on the fact that I can’t be good at everything… 🙂 However, wanting to be good at everything has made me hard-working and competitive. I think those are two of the most important qualities that are necessary to succeed in life.

Unfortunately, I was made to feel inferior today (a feeling that I would rather not experience on a regular basis). Someone was explaining how to do something and basically telling me what to do. She was making me feel like I’m stupid and not as good as her. I guess this person doesn’t realize that I have 10 years of experience, a Master’s Degree, and actually taught these things to college students. This person obviously doesn’t realize that I have the same knowledge and experience as her. I wish I could have turned to her and said “I already know how to do all of this. I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” Instead, I stood there and nodded my head with a smile on my face.

This experience made me think of my job as a whole and how I feel rather under-appreciated.  First of all, I’m not “just a reading specialist.” Just because I don’t have a large group of students does not make my job easier or less challenging. In fact, I have a Master’s Degree and special training in order to hold this position. In fact, I work with some of the most difficult students in the school who need the most help. In fact, teachers rely on me to “fix” their students. In fact, with the state-mandated tests, there is a lot of pressure on me to teach them to read well enough to pass those tests and reach grade level. I feel that I deserve more recognition. I’m not asking for constant praise, but an occasional thank you would be nice.

This experience also made me think about how others are treated. The young children whom I work with deserve more credit. I am inspired to treat them with greater respect and confidence. I want them to know that I believe in them and to know that they are smart. I don’t want to question their abilities, but rather celebrate what they CAN do. The adults whom I come in contact with on a regular basis deserve more from me as well. They deserve my kindness, patience, love, and respect every second of every day. I want every person in my life to see a smile on my face, to know how much I care about them, and to know how much I appreciate them. I will not take people for granted. Instead I will be thankful for each and every person.

Everyone should feel superior rather than inferior. Everyone should have the confidence to achieve what they want to achieve. Everyone needs to be inspired to be a good person. If each person was treated with respect and kindness then maybe the world would be a nicer place.

“Live in such a way, that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.” ~author unknown