This is something that Julee wrote for school. I would have never seen it except she emailed me and asked me to proofread it for her. It's not long but by the time I got to the end, all I could think is "Wow....."
Isn't she amazing?
Power of Thought
by
Julee Dykes
I believe in the influence of family.
I was
born with a cleft palate. Being born with this deformity meant several surgeries
throughout my life to correct this. Whether my family taught me this because of
the cleft or because they are good people I don’t know but they always taught
me to believe in myself. They always said to love myself because I was
beautiful. They showed me that I didn’t need others approval or even their
attention. With these thoughts subconsciously engrained in my brain I was
headstrong and unafraid.
Needing multiple surgeries, I
had my third one by the time I was five. At that time I was acting badly to the
meds that knocked me out and was kicking and screaming. My mother and
grandfather had to hold me down to make sure I didn’t hurt myself or someone
else. I am thankful they loved me so much.
I
automatically wanted to go out after my surgery. It didn’t matter to me that I
had tons of bandages, or the fact I was bloody and puffy. My mom told me that
people would think I was weird. I didn’t mind. I am thankful that my family
taught me that the only person that could really affect me was me.
Four
years later when I moved to New York I was made fun of. People called me names
I had never heard of and it really hurt my feelings. Thanks to what my family
taught me, I was able to
get through the hard times. Now I always believe in myself.
