>> Friday, April 20, 2007 ; 6:05 PM
Inspired
I want to share a reading I found in "God's Little Devotional Book for Leaders", pages 244-245. Here is how it goes.
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Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.
......get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.-Proverbs 4:7
When nine-year-old Shantee began having trouble with her homework, Mary Pinkney decided to set an example for her granddaughter and an older cousin, Alvin. She told a writer for
Woman's Day.
"Shantee needed help with third-grade math and I couldn't do it. I knew then that I needed to go back to school - not just so I could help myself, but also to give my grandchildren the help they needed."
Pinkney had dropped out of grade school to get married, more than forty years before and was now 61 years old. Even so, she returned to school, attending at night while holding down a full-time day job at a seafood plant. It took her four years to complete her stdies for a high school diploma, but she made the grade!
She became an honor roll student in the process.As for Alvin, he was inspired to complete his own high-school degree and go to college. He said, "She showed me I could do it too." Mary was so inspired by Alvin that she joined him to study computer technology at Brunswick College!*
There's more to an education than knowledge. There's also the
inspiration factor - sometimes, being an inspiration to others, and sometimes inspiring yourself!
*quoted from Peter J. Daniels-----
I was struck when I read that quote about Newton and the apple, and of course, the story of Mary Pinkney. Nothing is impossible as long as you set your heart and mind to it. There are a lot of things going on in this world that pass by us and we just don't mind them at all, but these things are what make you become who you are, whether it gives you worldwide recognition, inspire others to make most out of their life, become some succssful businessman, and the list goes on.
Now, this reminds me of my Pisay days (interesting Kamae, interesting...). What made me survive the school is the thought that there had been many students who walked pass those halls before me, and they managed to make it, becoming stronger and better individuals compared to the first time they entered Pisay. It is never easy to go through school, may it be high school or not, may you be a grown woman, like Pinkney, or a teenager, like me; there will always be struggles, academically, socially, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Same goes with life, and after all you've been through, you look at the past and you see yourself smiling because you managed to finish the marathon set before you by life.
-Kamae
Labels: inspirational, life
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