My fifth grade teacher told me I was gifted. I had always gotten good grades, but this was the first year I got straight A’s and went on to receive the “Outstanding 6th Grader Award” the following year, which put me on the honors path. I often wonder, “What if that teacher hadn’t told me that, and what if I hadn’t chosen to believe her?” I learned at an early age the power our words can have on another.
