Lessons taught in school are beneficial, yes, but what about the ones we learn outside of school? I have come to learn that they are just as important as the ones learned in school. There have been times when I had to use the skills that I learned OUTSIDE of school to accomplish a goal rather than ones I learned INSIDE school.
One time in particular, a basic experience I must admit, was when I fell off my bike as I was learning how to ride it. I was about eight and I desperately wanted to ride a bicycle. All of the little kids on my road were riding theirs and I was stuck inside my house watching them. It killed me! So I asked my mother to strap me up and I told her I would teach myself. She was so shocked, she asked me over and over if I was sure I wanted to try something so dangerous on my own. I couldn’t be seen getting babied by my mother, that would have been so “lame.” I was determined to do it on my own.
So I go out there, my eight year old heart set on making it down the road and back without any type of slip-up. That plan failed. I barely made it past my mailbox. I didn’t realize what happened until afterwards. I sat on the ground, wide-eyed and embarrassed. None of my friends had fallen but here I am on the ground. I wanted to cry. I felt the lump in my throat, the stinging behind my eyes…but I couldn’t cry. Not there. I had to get up. I looked up and my mother was standing there, fussing over me and trying to help me up. I remember saying, “No mama, I got it. I can do it.” She let me try.
I didn’t get it that day. I don’t think I learned how to fully ride a bike until the next year.
The skill I learned that day was to pick myself up. Having someone to depend on can be an enormous help but I learned that I have to do things on my own. I have to learn. In different types of situations, individuals will HAVE to pick themselves up. This is a lesson that I’ll be able to take into every day life.
