MRS. SUMMERS

As a young girl, I had more teachers dislike me and try to change me than I did ones who celebrated who I was. I wasn’t an easy child. I didn’t sit quietly with my hands folded on my desk. I had a mind of my own I had opinions and ideas I liked to live fully and I had a presence that didn’t blend in or go unnoticed. Most teachers or adults wanted to change that about me to make their lives easier. I felt their desire to tame me and shrink me for their comfort. I knew they didn’t like me the way they did my peers who were quiet and obedient. I even remember a teacher saying in front of the class that I gave him a rash

Then there was Mrs.Summers. She wasn’t my classroom teacher but I would go to her for music, drama and French. She liked me and she made me feel accepted and loved just the way I was. She was the first example I remember of someone in school who celebrated me for being me. She would compliment me for the way I expressed myself and championed my independent thinking I wasn’t “too much” for her. She allowed me to be all of myself.

Our childhood authorities have so much influence upon the way we see ourselves. They can make us feel shame, embarrassment and like something is “wrong” with us or they can empower and celebrate who we are as individuals There is so much responsibility in that

I distinctly recall saying that I would make girls and women feel seen and loved no matter what just the way Mrs. Summers did for me. I am a ripple effect of her legacy.