…told you something that meant a lot. I’ll go first.
My mom died in 2008. Once, when she was in the hospital, she told me we came from a very long line of strong women. She paused. She then looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Tiffany, you’re the strongest one of us all.” I will never forget that moment. Ever. I often remind myself of her words.
I’ll never forget when my grade school English teacher told me I was a good writer, and I should keep at it. She probably had no idea how bad my home life was, and how hard I was struggling to feel lovable and worthy. Those few words of encouragement were a flash in the darkness. Her name is Joy. Such a perfect name. Thanks, Joy.
A professor once told me, when privately evaluating my oral argument/debate with another classmate, that I was powerful. That floored me, because people just don’t say that sort of thing! I sort of laughed when she said it, but she was completely serious. She advised me to always use my “power” for good, and not evil. Now, my job requires a ton of advocacy and argument, and when I’m feeling less than confident, I always remind myself “You are powerful; act like it.” That has gotten me through a lot, and I will always be in that professor’s debt.
I distinctively remember not having a psycho meltdown in response to a tragic situation. I felt so weird about how I was dealing with things. Why wasnt I in freak out mode, like usual? A therapist soon told me, “It’s ok to be ok. It’s ok to cope well with things”. It was like I was given permission to be ok and handle things in a good way.