Perseverance

I was alone

Which gave me time

to embrace

all that is

all that was

all that is to come

:

I patiently waited

in the back of the line

out of the spotlight

My favorite place

:

A girl in front of me

was impatiently waiting

with her friend

Bouncing around in place

Eyes racing to and fro the stadium

filling with people

:

I noticed

the nervousness in the way

her head turned

The way her tassel exploded

as it slapped against

her graduation hat

The sheen of her balloon

in the sunlight

as is oscillated in the breeze

:

Then I saw it

:

Against the nape of her neck

her golden sash read

in small purple letters

:

'Perseverance'

:

Tears flowed

from pivotal moments

of my childhood

to this pivotal moment

in my adulthood

:

It was joy

It was gratitude

It was remembering

my achievement

:

The turns on each road

that brought me to this moment

:

In 1st grade

I was a terrible speller

I cheated on every test

:

Tremendous amounts of guilt

built up in my gut that year

:

In 2nd grade

I promised myself

'No more cheating'

'I will be a great speller'

:

I remember our first test

Our teacher said

she would post

our spelling tests on the wall with stickers

if we got more than 100%

including points for a bonus word

:

The bonus word

was always a word

not in our academic plan

that was above

a 2nd grade reading level

:

The first test our bonus word was

'Perseverance'

:

The next week

my test was the only one

on the wall

:

A year later

I became

the spelling bee champion

at my school

I even had the honor of going

to the regional competition in LA

:

I did it!

I was a great speller

all thanks to

perseverance

:

That word stuck in my brain

for the rest of my life

and came to visit me

from time to time

:

Usually when things weren't right

but today it came back to remind me of

all the trials I've faced and overcome

How I've grown beyond all of it

into a beautifully, brilliant woman

:

Perseverance

paid me a visit

in this pivotal moment

To remind me

all the things I achieved

and how far I've come