It Ain't Over Til It's Over

Maybe Mrs. Bergquist was trying to tell me something that day. That if I persevered long enough, and had enough patience, and didn't limit myself in my skills and outlook, that good things would eventually happen. This is a true story.

At the end of my fifth grade year in elementary school, our teacher Mrs. Bergquist gave awards to students that she thought excelled in a specific category. The awards were handmade ribbons made of cloth and construction paper. It was a nice gesture to her students, and there were always enough awards so that every person got one. There was an award for best speller, another award for best kickball player, and another award for best speaker, you get the idea.

Mrs. Bergquist, to heighten the excitement (just like the Academy Awards ceremonies), waited until the end to give the three most notable awards. Those awards were for the best art student, best english student, and best math student. She would say, "This award goes to the student that I think will make an outstanding mathematician!" and call that person's name, and the kids would cheer.

Since my name hadn't been called yet, and since it was nearing the end of the awards ceremony, I figured I'm due up soon. So I waited.

"This award goes to the student that I think will make an outstanding mathematician!" And she called somebody else's name.

"This award goes to the student that I think will make an outstanding writer!" And she called somebody else's name.

"This award goes to the student that I think will make an outstanding artist!"

And...she called somebody else's name.

I thought to myself, "There are no awards left. Did I not do very well this year?" My classmates, all of whom were already holding their awards, looked at me with the same look that I was feeling. Moments passed, and just as we were about to leave for summer break, Mrs. Bergquist leaned behind her desk and said:

"Oh look, I almost forgot this one!"

What?

"There's one more award that I decided to give this year. I've never given this award before, but this year I'll make an exception."

What?

"This award goes to the student that I think will be great at WHATEVER he wants to do in life."

And she gave the award to me.

To this day, I still remember that moment. I still remember the smell of the blue construction paper and how BIG that award looked. I still remember my classmates cheering for me until the sound became hypnotic. I floated out of that classroom and floated into summer vacation, knowing that I can do anything. Thank you, Mrs. Bergquist.

If I persevered long enough, and had enough patience, and didn't limit myself in my skills and outlook, I can do anything.