School Visit - Mid-Columbia Seventh Day Adventist School

I had a fabulous visit with the 1st-4th grade class of the Mid-Columbia Seventh Day Adventist School. We jumped up and down on one foot, we talked writing, we talked books, we had a blast. This is a rough outline of what I said - I try hard not to read from the paper, but with two little boys running around my feet these days I don't have as much time to practice my speeches.

I’ll start my personal adventures of when I was in 4^th grade. I was living in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It was a really hard year for me. In the classroom I didn’t feel very good about myself. I was the worst in the class – the worst. In my class we had a chart with all our names on it. Every week we took a spelling test. If we got a hundred on our spelling test my teacher would put a star next to our names. All my classmates had at least four or five stars next to their names for getting a hundred on their spelling test, but not me. I never got a star. My chart stayed blank the whole year. During reading hour, when we finished our assignment we could go up to the teacher and get a candy sucker. I always finished last and by the time I got to pick a candy all the good flavors were gone. In the classroom I felt stupid, really stupid.

In 5^th grade we moved to Boston Massachusetts. I started at a new school, with a new teacher where I had to make new friends. On one of my first days in school my teacher asked me to read out loud in front of the whole class. I just sat at my desk and looked at the book because that was all I could do – I couldn’t read – I didn’t know how to read. I felt even more stupid. But, my teacher was wonderful. She took me aside and had me tested by a professional for learning disability. My results said that I was reading and spelling on a first grade level and was dyslexic – a common learning disability that affects people’s ability to LEARN. I was told that being dyslexic did not mean that I couldn’t read and spell – it meant that I had to learn how to read and spell differently. With this new knowledge my teacher and after school tutor taught me how to read and spell. I didn’t learn overnight. It was years of hard hard hard work, but by 8^th grade I finally caught up. I was finally reading and spelling on an eighth grade level. In high school I graduated near the top of my class and a member of the National Honor Society. In college I graduated near the top of my class with a near perfect grade point average of 3.98 and was awarded the highest academic honor available to an accounting major.

I am so proud to tell you that I am dyslexic. I believe it is the greatest gift I was given because it forced me to learn how to work really hard. If school had been easy for me I don’t know if I would have ever learned how to work really hard. And it’s through my hard work that I have found success. You see, starting at age of 13, I had the goal of making U.S. Olympic Team in the sport of Whitewater Slalom Kayaking. And through my hard work in sport I ended up on the US National Team, ranked second in the country, a world championship silver medalist, and the first alternate to two US Olympic Teams.

My point is this: our greatest weaknesses – mine being reading and spelling – we can all find something that will help us become better at whatever we set out to achieve.

I would have NEVER in a million years thought I would stand in front of you as an author. Even though I worked so hard to over come my dyslexia I am still really scared of words! Commas, nouns, adjectives – grammar in general SCARE me. But, I had a dream – I wanted to write a book, so I put aside my fears and worked really hard to write this little book. And again, if I hadn’t been dyslexic, if I hadn’t learned how to work really hard in school, I would have never been able to write this book.

So to sum up my personal adventures I truly believe that my greatest weakness in life – being dyslexic - truly became my greatest strength because it taught me how to work really hard. 

A huge thank you to Stacey at Mid-Colubmia SDA School. It is amazing teachers like you that help unlock the wonders in every book. Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Sunday Goodness: THE MUSTN'TS

You cannot go wrong with Shel Silverstein, especially this one:

LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper and Row 1974 

When I set out to write The Ancient Realm there were so many “MUSTN’TS” in my mind:

Dyslexics “DON’T” write…

So when I went to college, I studied Accounting—a major that requires a minimum amount of writing.

It’s next to “IMPOSSIBLE” to become a successful author…

So I gave up my dreams of wanting to write a book and went to work at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

You “WON’T” get published in this market…

So I let my book that I poured my heart and soul into sit on my desk and collect dust for five years.

I am guilty of listening to, and much worse, believing in the “MUSTN’TS.”

So many times we blame society for creating the “MUSTN’TS,” or even our parents, teachers, or peers. But more times than not, we have created the “MUSTN’TS” in our own heads. The “MUSTN’TS” are our own fears that act as roadblocks on our pursuit of our true passions.

When I decided to publish The Ancient Realm I made the choice to shove the “MUSTN’TS” out of mind. It is still yet to be determined if I am any good at writing. I am not a successful author yet. And to get published, I had to do everything myself. But for one of the first times in my life, I didn’t listen to the “MUSTN’TS” and instead created the “ANYTHING” is possible if you believe it is—a much happier mindset.

I still get scared that I’ve made a fool of myself – that The Ancient Realm will never become a successful book – that I have wasted years of my life pursing a dream I have no chance of ever succeeding at. But being scared is a far better feeling than being frustrated every time I saw The Ancient Realm collecting dust on my desk.

Do me a favor, listen to the ANYTHINGS and together with me we can work our butts off at trying to succeed. 

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle