50 Lessons in 50 Years by-Latarsha Banks
June 7, 2023, I turned 50 years old and all I could think about was the lessons I learned and the people who influenced me to be the person I am today. I know many of you would think I’m only referring to the positive people, but I welcomed the others as well. They showed me who I didn’t want in my life. Hopefully, someone will find something useful as I share what I have learned! 1. If I fall down, I can always get up and try again. When we are babies, we learn so many things, but one of the most important is if I try it and don’t succeed, I’m going to keep trying until I master it. 2. At two years old we learn that we are separate from our parents who we have been dependent on since birth. We learn to use the word No and it was okay to be selfish. 3. I can say my ABC’s and count to 10. Whenever I learned something new or accomplished something, it gave me so much confidence. It set the stage for the things I can do today. 4. I can empathize with others. When I was little and started to make “friends”, I didn’t want to see them hurt, I learned to understand how others feel. 5. Welcome to Kindergarten! Being able to have time away from my siblings was great and when I came home from school, I was extremely happy to see them. I actually missed them. This taught me that it was okay to take time for myself. 6. I can read! My grandfather would have me read stuff to him all the time and I was so proud! I didn’t know then but as an adult I found out that a few of my elders couldn’t read and I was helping them. We never know how we can impact others without even trying to.
RE-ESTABLISH H.E.R. | 9
