DARE to be awesome!

Alright, so it didn't turn out the be my next post, but here's the story of Morgan and her latest accomplishment.

Morgan is our amazing, little fifth grader. I say amazing in that she truly astounds us every day with her knowledge and skills. This girl is more than just bright, she's brilliant. This is not just a proud Momma talking, though I am that, too. This girl is really, truly gifted academically and we love to be amazed at all she knows and does.

This past Wednesday I attended her DARE (Drug Alcohol Resistance Education) graduation. Part of the fifth graders' requirements for the class was to write an essay on what they learned from DARE. Three winners would be selected, a first, second, and third place winner. Morgan wrote her essay and turned it in a few weeks ago. She had composed a poem to go with the essay and gave it her best effort. Earlier in the day she had told me how much she'd like to win but didn't think her essay was worthy of a prize as she'd written it as if it was the end of the school year, when the DARE graduation is typically held. She hadn't known when she wrote the essay that the graduation would be moved up many months. So she felt her essay had no chance of winning since it would sound out of place to be writing about the end of the school year, etc.

Long story shortened, her essay was the first place winner! She was thrilled and stunned and said she was shaking all over as she recited it to the crowd from the stage. I couldn't tell a bit that she was nervous but she said her whole body trembled.

I'm so proud of this little girl and think in wonder sometimes about what she might someday become. There's no limit to her potential, as is true of every child. They just need the encouragement to follow their dreams and the guidance to help them find that path. I know I'm not the only proud Momma out there, and this first place essay finish might sound like small potatoes to some people, but in our house the small victories are worthy of celebration, too. Every accomplishment is a moment for praise, for it is through praise that we find the courage to keep pursuing that which seems out of our reach. Suddenly the unattainable becomes the tangible, the dream becomes the reality.

I wonder which of Morgan's dreams today will be her reality tomorrow?