Inspirational Quotes by Mary

Inspirational Quotes by Mary - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Wayne Gretzky said “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t make”. However, I was taught to be conservative. Try not to take risks. Try not to over spend. It is hard to take the shot when you fear you will miss and it will cost you. Quotes such as “don’t bite off more than you can chew” quickly come to mind. Should one play it safe or push the limits? Then a friend posted the quote, “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will” on my Facebook page recently. This quote moved me. What was stopping me from going after what I wanted? Nothing but my own doubts!

When my friend posted the quote on my page, she was addressing the fact that I was struggling with the decision to go back to school for my teaching certification. You see, I am a single mom and I work as a substitute teacher. I want to be a certified teacher but I worry about the logistics of accomplishing my goal. My friend saw my doubts and motivated me to try with the above quote. It did the trick. Doubt cannot be allowed to stop me from doing what I know I am capable of.

Later in the week I was watching the news and saw a man in the South that started out as the school janitor who slowly worked his way up through the school and is currently the principle! The doubts and uncertainty he must have felt must have been equal or greater than my own. He did not have a high school diploma but had to get his GED then apply for college! During the interview the newscaster asked him if he planned to become superintendent next and his response was “why not?” What a wonderful attitude he has. Confidence instead of doubts!

Winston Churchill said that “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” The will to go forward and to better on ourselves must triumph over doubts and negative thinking. We must have hope for the future and work to make it happen. The conservative up bringing can be useful in assessing risk but it shouldn't suffocate dreams. The world needs teachers and I want to be a great one!