Don’t Let Anyone Tell You You Can’t Do Something

Everyday we go to school we are faced with challenges inside ant outside the bounds of the classroom that it often becomes overwhelming. We've discussed many things on this page but we've never discussed the potential each one of us possesses, this is because our potential is insurmountable. Often we forget that we are smarter, stronger and more capable than what we are allowing ourselves to believe.

 Below please find a piece posted in Personal development by Ilka Flood. this piece serves as that reminder of the strength you posses and your ability to acquire knowledge against all odds.

If you want something bad enough … go get it!

When I was in grade school in Germany I wanted to take an English language class that was offered as an extra curriculum class. (Back then English and French weren’t part of the curriculum like they are now.) The Beatles just started to get real popular and I wanted to understand what they were singing. Since I had to have the permission of my teacher to take that class I went to ask her if she would allow me to go. Here’s what she told me, “Ilka,” she said, “I’m sorry but I can’t give you permission to take that class. Your grades in German are so bad you will never make it. You’ll never learn English. You can’t even speak German properly.” (Well, who at the age of 10 really does?)

I was crushed. Twice a week my friends would take “Walter & Connie” classes and I couldn’t go with them. So I saved up the money for the audio lessons – they came in the old 45 records back then – and taught myself. After I had the basics down I started translating Beatles songs with the help of a dictionary. And after that, I bought every English language book I could find in the bookstores of my hometown. I looked up the words I didn’t know in my dictionary and just kept going.  With each and every book I got better. That teacher couldn’t stop me. I was bound and determined to learn English … and I did! What’s funny is, that years later when I met my husband (he was stationed in my hometown), he had me spell-check his letters to his mom before he mailed them home.