Acting Crazy

In The End of Freedom from Sioux's Page, Sioux asks,

“What is the craziest thing you ever did as a kid?”

I remember playing outside in the neighborhood when I was a child. When it was time for dinner, mothers would stand on their front steps and call their children by name. Sometimes you waited and let them call you twice but if your middle name was ever used along with your first name, you went running…or else. You never wanted to find out what the “else” was! In the summer, after dinner, we were allowed to play in the neighborhood but you were told to come home by dark.

We used to take big refrigerator boxes and make towns out of them. We would draw on them and paint them and cut holes for windows and doors in them. The imagination made the possibilities endless.

I was a quiet kid who followed the rules. I really never did anything crazy that I can recall. I was the youngest of three girls and my sisters were ten and twelve years older than me. I never really had a chance to do anything rebellious or crazy. I felt like I had three mothers watching me every minute and I couldn’t wait to go away to college.

I think the craziest thing I did was when I applied for college. I was underage and knew my parents would never let me go far away to college because we couldn’t afford it. I applied to the one university and forged their permission on the application. I never thought of the consequences I would face if I was accepted. I never thought about the financial implications of being accepted either. I just had faith that I would be accepted and that I would find a way to pay for it. This faith helped me get through the tough times over the four years I attended the university of my dreams.

I like to share this craziness with my students (not the part about the forging my parent’s names) but about doing what was necessary to go after my dreams. I believed in myself and knew that I had it in me to do what I needed to do to achieve my goals.

What is the craziest thing you ever did as a child? How has it helped you later in life. Please share.

Image: 'FULL OF ENERGY!'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44345361@N06/4472813704
Found on flickrcc.net