Chapter 37
At age 14, most little girls feel they are becoming a woman. Their breasts grow and they leave their last inch behind. Their backs are stronger so they wear the high heels now and the shorter skirts. All that didn’t concern me. That year was the year of discovery which I was not aware of at the time. It was then that I first saw the moon walk by Michael Jackson. It was then that I learned how to play the game of SIMS. It was then that I drew in my math book instead of pay attention in class. I drew from my imagination and I was so proud. I was no artist like my brother, but I tried. My 8 year old baby brother had to hold my hand to cross the street because sometimes we’d walk home together, while my other brother played basket ball till his uniform shirt could no longer be worn at the end of the day. I was just trying my best to be a good student, daughter and responsible. I couldn’t think way ahead to how my life would actually turn out. I was just trying to graduate. That was my goal.
At 15, I went to take my SATs. My mother had bought my brother and I books to prepare, but they were written in gibberish. No one was able to explain the math sections to me, so I studied all the other areas. Reading was my favorite. I couldn’t take the test on Saturday due to my beliefs as a Seventh Day Adventist. So my school counselor got some of us to go on Sunday to the Highschool in town. We met as a group and I sat for the test. I ended up sitting 4 times! How could I flunk 3 times in a row. I’d say I either didn’t study well or the information just wasn’t sticking. Either way, the last time, I passed my reading and writing skills very high and my math, lower, but got a pass high enough to skip taking skills classes in College. Whew, what a relief. Aiming for a 4 year scholarship would be like me aiming for Pluto. I didn’t see myself obtaining that so maybe that’s why I didn’t get it, but you already know my mathematical woes.
This wouldn’t be the last time I would have to try 4 times to pass a test. At age 18, I’d be on track again, leaping towards a drivers’ license. After 4 tries at the written test, I was finally at a 95%. Now I could take my road test. I had returned home from college in Alabama on a Christmas break. I figured, I’d tackle this venture, get my license and be on my way. When I’d get back to meet a brand new car! (Like they would yell on the show ‘The Price is Right’).
That didn’t happen. I rolled my suitcases back to the airport a failure. My folks said they had no more money to pay the Driving school instructor and my time was up. I told myself, I’d try again when I got back. Little did I know, that time I spent away would meet failure after failure after failure. I’d be too afraid to try again. Little did I know that it would be a decade before I did.
