I was in ninth grade. Somehow, I had made a name for myself, but at first, it was through my brother. I had gone from someone who was ridiculed (don’t get me wrong, I did have friends but I was very insecure), had body parts all growing at different rates, and was what some would call nerdy, to someone who was accepted, finally having hands and feet that matched the rest of my body…and, well, still nerdy.
My brother was in the twelfth grade and had already made friends. I became known as “the little brother.” I had also joined the Mock Trial club and became a mock-lawyer. That year our team went all the way to the state regionals in Annapolis, Maryland, though we lost in the semi-finals. But, I managed to obtain the name “Mad-Dog Dan” for ripping a piece of evidence out of the hand of the other team’s witness.
Also, that year, I started attending a youth group at a church called Trinity. They had a guest speaker come who was to visit six high schools. His name is Dave Roever, a Vietnam Veteran with a phenomenal story of triumph over tragedy that took place in his life. (You can find out more information about him at http://www.daveroever.org.
After watching a video of his story in a high school auditorium, I was determined to make sure that my high school would be one of the six schools chosen. (This is where I learned the importance of networking and overcoming fears and insecurities for the sake of relationship and a higher purpose.)
The thoughts and fears that went through my mind were, “Why would the church youth leadership pick my school?” “You don’t know anyone,” “You’re not important enough,” and “They will look right past you.” Fears can be crippling when trying to accomplish something. They can also be crippling when trying to build relationships with others.
The trouble with these insecurities and fears?
It turns out, no one else knows you are feeling them. It is like being trapped inside your mind and feeling as if no one can hear the inner screams of inade- quacy. Thankfully, I had parents and friends who were very encouraging. I never heard from them, “You cannot do this.” In fact, the opposite was true. My parents and friends continued to encourage me with words such as, “You can do anything you set your mind to.”
I wonder what would have happened if I had not had people in my life that took the time to share encouragement, words of confidence and affirmation, and allowed me the freedom to “go for it.” Even with those words, I struggled with assertiveness. However, pushing through those negative feelings allowed me the opportunity to bring the school a fantastic assembly—the first assembly in the