Thinking about all the things I’m able to do today, I could say that the things I was exposed to at a young age helped shape the opportunities that became available and accessible for me growing up.
If my mother did not show me my father’s Reader’s Digest magazines, I might not be interested in scanning through the pages to see people of color and race, and I won’t be as fond as talking to internationals today. I won’t be fond of visiting libraries and learning about narwhals, Tom Sawyer, and the joy of reading. If she did not teach me how to use the dictionary (we used to have two big volumes at home from A to Z), I may never have learned about other words such as diaspora and amicable. If she had not taught me how to do math, I might not have taken engineering as an undergrad. If she was not generous with pens, notebooks, and papers, I might not have had the heart to explore doing creative stuff, like making my own book of board games. I may not have had the heart to create anything at all. If she did not keep talking about the DOST scholarship for college while I was still in grade school, I might not have prepared myself for the exam and not have become a scholar.
If my grandmother did not lend us her encyclopedia set, I may not have learned about horses and attempted to write a story with them in it.
If my grade school teachers did not encourage me to read, write, and speak, I might not have found the interest to learn more about writing and speaking and trained myself to continuously write and speak, shipping ideas throughout high school, college, graduate studies, and as a working professional.
If my uncle and auntie kept me from using their computer and browsing through Encarta, I may not have been interested in knowing the bigger world. And I may haven’t had the general information I still carry today.
If my Sunday school teachers never gave me leadership roles, I may have been okay to be on the sidelines and wait for somebody to lead and bring direction.
There’s still more to say, but I want to emphasize this: the things you get exposed to and learn from at a young age help form the kind of future you’ll have.
And now that we can teach children so many things, I hope we give them their right to learn.
jessa 