Everything is relative

As some of you may recall from a previous post, I didn’t pay much attention to subjects other than math and physics during my high school years. I was doing decently, but I didn’t excel in anything except for art and sports classes.

What was strange was that in my literature class I was at the bottom. You’d think that someone who loved reading and writing poetry would do well in that subject, but I consistently received poor grades throughout the first ten years of school.

Things took a turn in the eleventh grade when we got a new teacher. For the first time in my life, my assignments got noticed and started getting top marks. I was in shock when my new teacher tried to convince my parents to let me pursue a degree in humanities instead of science. You have to understand that I was in a math and physics high school where students aim for science or medical degrees. Humanities are not the norm. Of course my parents rejected the idea just as they had been when my art teacher suggested I attend the art high school.

The fact that I went from being a mediocre literature student to a star was pretty wild. At that time, I didn’t know much about my new teacher. Only later I learned that he was a well-known critic in Romanian literature history and contemporary poetry. Sadly, he passed away prematurely in 1998. In his memory, I’m sharing his name linked to a brief bio I found on the web, in Romanian: Mircea Lesovici.

When this story came to mind I was tempted to title this post with his name, since he made such an impact on my last two high school years. Just that I wanted the title to reflect the message of my post. Stay true to yourself and don’t let anyone mold you into something you’re not. If I had tried to change my writing style to please my first teacher and get better grades, most likely, my next teacher would have not recognized my potential.

Sure, how others perceive us can have a big impact on our success. Don’t let that influence you! As I ventured through the corridors of education, professional and personal life, I discovered that – everything is relative.