October 2022

I remember when I was a kid, I had a teacher say to me, “you catch on quickly. You are so bright!” I remember it catching me off guard. I never thought I was dumb, but all of sudden I felt much smarter, and capable. It lifted me up and made me feel confident even when faced with unfamiliar tasks in her class. In contrast, as a young adult, I had someone stare at my nose and ask me if it had ever been broken because it was crooked. My nose had never been broken and I certainly never thought my nose was my best feature, but all of sudden I found myself quite self-conscious and aware of it all the time. Each person’s words had power over me. One used their words to speak good and encourage me and one used their words to tear me down and cause doubt. We speak all day, every day, some more than others, but the words that are coming out of our mouths are powerful.