Red is the Color of Anger and Fear

So, yeah…my mom is going to read this and I’m going to get a phone call…

YOLO, son…YOLO.

Today’s prompt for #NaBloPoMo15 is:

What is the most important lesson you learned as a child, and who taught it to you?

I learned so many lessons as a child. Let me highlight a few:

• Watermelon, under no circumstances, tastes good with sugar on it.
•  If you shoot a lightbulb with a water gun, it will explode…I didn’t do that one…
• If one cousin gets chicken pox during the summer vacation at grandma’s house, all of you got it.
• If you show off a super spin really close to a wall, you will hit your head and black out for a second…I did that one…

I am still learning. Even though 1 Cor 13:11 says “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put the ways of childhood behind me,” I promise some days I have my moments though…

So, where my mom comes in. She’s one half of a set of identical twin girls. She grew up with 9 brothers and wanted to have 4 girls of her own. I had the misfortune of being born in the position of oldest child and the only girl. Yay me. I loved being the only girl the majority of the time because I could get away with so much. But my mom is a seamstress…and this is where it gets a little hairy…

I think the expression on my face says it all. I love my mom dearly, but I’m not a girly girl. I’m not a big fan of polka dots. I hate(d) matching outfits. My mom being a twin and loving to dress up her little girl sometimes led to days of discontent. I dreaded Sundays and trips to the fabric store because I knew what it really meant. Wonder twin powers activate!

What did I learn from all of this though? Through the many years of looking more like my mother than I ever wanted to, I fought hard to be my true self. The kid who hated stockings and would much rather be in jeans, playing football with her brothers needed to be freed! I remember those years of my life and it reminds me that I’m unique and have my own personality and my own voice. God created me to stand out, so I should never try to just blend in with the rest of the world! The most important that I learned as a child was taught to me by mom and she taught me (despite my/our wardrobe) that I should not follow the crowd and just be myself.

There’s a question that has been posed and it asks people to reflect on themselves and who they are giving to the world. It basically asks “would you be friends with yourself?” I say yes and no. I love myself and would totally be friends with me! I think I have an amazing personality and am a great friend! On the flip side of that, I wouldn’t want a friend who’s exactly like myself; similar interests and beliefs are great, but having a clone is a little creepy. I love to meet new people and experiencing new personalities and cultures. I love folks who are a little different and stand out a bit. We are all created to be amazing beings and share our greatness with the world!

What is the most important lesson you learned as a child, and who taught it to you? Let me know in the comments below!