Don't Be Afraid of "No"

My step-son, who is 14 and in his Freshman year of high school, and I get along pretty well, but we just don’t get to see each other that much with my work schedule and the days that he is at our house. We see him mostly on weekends (I work weekends) and he fills us in on what’s happened throughout his school week. One of the major things that we have in common is art…OK, maybe we don’t necessarily like the same things, but he likes to draw and I enjoy watching him progress in the art world.

Throughout the week last week, he was texting his dad (my husband) about being interested in an art program that is offered at his high school. What makes me really proud is that he took the initiative to talk to the teacher on his own (he can be shy) and set up a time to meet with her. Awesome, right? He ended up meeting with her and she liked his drawings. She offered him two choices: he could be in the architecture class or the drawing class next year. Want to hear the really cool thing? The architecture class is only offered to Juniors and Seniors and she said he could join next school year as a Sophomore. That’s fantastic! He has a decision to make and, I gotta say, I couldn’t be more proud either way.

I learn a little something from him (whether he knows it or not) on occasion. From this, I realized that I need to take some more initiative to put myself out there and show people more of my drawings. Stepping out and not being afraid of “no” can be scary, but what’s life if you’re not taking chances every once in a while? Don’t be afraid of “no;” the next person just might say “yes.”