To Be A Leader A short excerpt I had on another site and after it got many positive comments I decided to put it here. Enjoy I remember my third grade teachers hated me, "What do want to be when you grow up?" they'd ask. All the other kids wanted to be cowboys, doctors, astronauts, veterinarians, lumberjacks, or even construction workers. Yet I wouldn't give those a thought, I stand up in my desk, much to the teacher's surprise and I would smile, "I want to be a leader" "Like a president?" my teacher would ask. I would shake my head and another student would pipe in, "Like a superhero?" I'd keep shaking my head, "No. I want people like me to look up to me, I want them to be my pack, we could be a team and we would save people!" I screamed. The teacher would smile but quickly make me sit down, "Now that job doesn't exist, what about a veterinarian, you love animals don't you?" "I love animals Miss...but have you ever jumped off the swing-set?" The teacher would shake her head, "No because it's not safe" "Well I have and when I'm flying I feel brave Miss, and when I hit the ground people clap and cheer for me. And when I raced Bryson across the playground and won, kids told me I was the fastest kid at school! Can you believe that Miss? I like that, knowing people see me as someone to be, not someone to boss them around, that job would be a teacher," my teacher frowned at this statement, "No... I want people to wave my flags and I'll always be there for them" The other students were quiet, ignorant to what I really wanted, and the teacher would give me a sour look of disapproval, "That's not a job! That is a dream" she snapped. As a child I didn't understand arguing much so I did it all the time, "Is dreaming not a job?" "No, now sit down, what do you want to be?" "A leader Miss" "I've told you Lillian, that's no job, that's a position. Every job has someone to lead them" she'd argue. "Okay, well if I'm an astronaut I want to be captain. If I'm a doctor I want to be the surgeon. If I were a cowgirl I'd be the Lone Ranger" I said. "That's selfishness, do you always want to be in the spotlight?" the teacher growled in exasperation. "No...I hate the spotlight sometimes. No, Miss, it's the feeling of having people look up to you that I like. I love being the underdog" I answered. "Go sit in timeout" she finally muttered. The other students made weird faces. A tear slipped from my eye, "Miss? What did I do wrong?" "You'll sit in that chair until you figure out a real job" she snarled. I sobbed quietly in that seat. I sat there until school ended. Yet every time she asked me I always told her, "Miss I want to be a leader..."