I was born in Lima, Peru. When I came here at the age of five with my mother all I remember bringing was my little mermaid carry on and a head full of lice. Yeah, I said it. Sorry to the kinder garden class at Silverbrooke Elementary. That's the type of stuff that happens in third world countries, to say the least.
Anyway, thank God my family had taught me English. Within a few weeks I was pretty much fitting in. EXCEPT for my name. Every time someone would ask me my name I would try my absolute hardest to pronounce it the American way; NO accent.
When my mother would come for parent-teacher nights and she would say my name correctly in front of everyone, I would CRINGE.
I felt odd. White skin, blue eyes, dark hair, buck teeth, weird name. Why couldn't I be a little but more 'normal' I'd ask myself.
I guess we all go through our insecurities in our path to self discovery. The uniqueness that once made me want to hide in a corner during attendance time is the same uniqueness that makes me irreplaceable today. Because I stand tall behind my name and I make the choice to answer to the adjectives put next to it.
In this case it's a name, but what uniqueness about yourself are you not fully embracing today? FORGET what the media tell us. FORGET what others think about it. FORGIVE anyone that tried to judge you for it. STAND TALL.
* Paloma is a female given name. Which means dove, derived from Latin "palumba". The name can be understood to mean the Christian symbol of The Holy Spirit in this bird. **
I guess we all go through our insecurities in our path to self discovery. The uniqueness that once made me want to hide in a corner during attendance time is the same uniqueness that makes me irreplaceable today. Because I stand tall behind my name and I make the choice to answer to the adjectives put next to it.
In this case it's a name, but what uniqueness about yourself are you not fully embracing today? FORGET what the media tell us. FORGET what others think about it. FORGIVE anyone that tried to judge you for it. STAND TALL.
What others thought was weird about you, is what God used to show off!
* Paloma is a female given name. Which means dove, derived from Latin "palumba". The name can be understood to mean the Christian symbol of The Holy Spirit in this bird. **
2 comments:
Very nice. I still remember I was the very shy one that did hide in the corner. I couldn't speak english so making friends was difficult. Understanding projects and than presenting them in front of the class was embarassing! But now, I love to talk, love being in front of a group. Only if I can go back in time and tell that little boy, "don't worry, you are going to be successful". But than I think that it wouldn't have made me the man I am today. Thank you God for the challenges.
Isn't it amazing how sometimes it's our insecurities that evolve into the largest blessings? Looking back to the so called 'bad' can be a beautiful experience because it humbles us and awakens us to remembering 'all things really are possible'. Be blessed and thank you for your comment.
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