{"id":248,"date":"2018-03-07T02:42:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T02:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.booksbytesajones.com\/?p=248"},"modified":"2018-05-26T16:00:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-26T16:00:12","slug":"when-failure-turns-into-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booksbytesajones.com\/?p=248","title":{"rendered":"When Failure Turns into Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Failure Turns into Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When I was very little, my father\u2019s job took us to Paris where we lived for two years.\u00a0 During that time, I attended kindergarten and started the first grade in French schools.\u00a0 According to my mother, I spoke French fluently (but don\u2019t ask me to speak it now.)\u00a0 I was halfway through the first grade when we returned to the United States.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I did not have the reading foundation in English to excel.\u00a0 For two years, the teachers made the decision to move me forward in school because they insisted I was smart enough to catch up; however, by the end of the third grade it appeared that I was sinking dramatically, and my future looked grim<\/strong>.\u00a0 As a result, the decision was made to retain me.<\/p>\n

This hurdle could have been conceived as failure, but my parents and teachers approached it with a positive attitude.\u00a0 \u00a0As a result of my August birthday \u2013 instead of being the youngest student in the class, I suddenly became the oldest<\/strong>.\u00a0 The teachers gave me leadership duties and empowered me to think like a role model.\u00a0 \u00a0In more ways than one, repeating the third grade became a turning point in my life<\/strong>. \u00a0Not only did I gain the necessary tools and time to build an academic foundation sturdy enough to eventually catapult me up the ladder of success, it also opened the door to a new friendship.<\/p>\n

It was during this particular year in my life that I met Debbie, who eventually became my best friend.\u00a0 \u00a0Her father was a diplomat, and they had recently moved to my neighborhood.\u00a0 The teacher asked me to befriend the new student and help her adjust to her new school.\u00a0 Debbie and I immediately formed a bond.\u00a0 But \u2013 even better — together — we created a community<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

When her family moved to Alexandria, they came with an assortment of gigantic wooden packing crates that \u2013 once emptied \u2013 were destined for the garbage. However,<\/strong> I had a better idea.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0This creative endeavor started small \u2013 just two enormous boxes.\u00a0 Debbie and I \u2013 as a team \u2013 pushed and pulled them to the wooded area behind her house.\u00a0 With cloth and rods, we made doors for privacy. \u00a0We used her parents\u2019 left over paint to change the color of the crates.\u00a0 Asking our mothers\u2019 permission, we collected discarded kitchen items.\u00a0 With hammer and nails, we constructed\u00a0 tables and chairs from the boards of smaller boxes.\u00a0 \u00a0Using orange juice cans and waxed string, we connected the two \u201chomes\u201d with a make-shift telephone line that only worked through our imagination.<\/p>\n

As other children in the neighborhood watched our progress, they became fascinated by our creation.\u00a0 Eventually, they asked if they, too, could be a part of it.\u00a0 Before we knew it, a dozen kids were participating \u2013 each with his or her own \u201cresidence.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0We connected each location with paths lined by stones, and every \u201chome\u201d had its own garden with flowers and small bushes.\u00a0 On a daily basis, the area was filled with the sound of laughter and children at play.\u00a0 We called our new town \u2013 Valley-Go-Boom.\u00a0\u00a0 Please don\u2019t ask me why or what inspired that unusual name \u2013 because I cannot — for the life of me — recall.\u00a0 However, I do remember the many years of creative play this masterpiece of packing crates and imagination gave to a group of kids who enjoyed spending time together.<\/p>\n

When I reflect upon these childhood adventures, I know in my heart that none of it would have occurred if not for the insightful wisdom of my teachers and my parents who saw me floundering in school and made a choice to change the direction of my life.\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 Repeating the third grade felt like a failure at the time; however, the manner in which it was handled gave me a better foundation and increased my confidence.<\/p>\n

I am convinced that I would not be the person I am today if those adults in charge of my life had not made the decision to give me an extra year in the third grade.\u00a0 As a result, a little girl — who was extremely small for her age and overshadowed by her own insecurities \u2013 eventually became a leader among her peers and created a community enjoyed by the entire neighborhood.<\/p>\n

We even made the local paper.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

FYI — As a child, I was known as Teresa “Tesa” Ranney \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I will end on a final note.\u00a0 Lynda Resnick once said . . . “You will learn more from your failures than from your successes.”\u00a0 Have you ever felt as if you were a failure\u00a0 . . . then transformed the situation into a success? \u00a0 Did it make you stronger?\u00a0 More confident?\u00a0 More determined?\u00a0 Did you bring others along with you on your journey?<\/p>\n

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