I’ve often been accused of being stubborn. That may be true, but I choose to call it persistence.
I can’t deny this accusation. There are plenty of instances in my life where persistence has been the basis of my actions. But that same persistence has also taken me to many amazing places and led to many incredible experiences. And it’s that same persistence that prompted me to chose the image of a girl on a tricycle as the logo of my newsletter, Chasing the Dream.
Way back when, at the tender age of four or five, I pursued my preschool dream of riding my tricycle in the town’s annual parade. This was not something someone my age was typically allowed to do, but I was determined. I dressed my trusty steed up with streamers and I pedaled the entire half-mile route alongside the big kids on bicycles, sandwiched between the classic cars and the tractors.
People said I couldn’t do it. They said I was too little, and the parade route was too long to ride on a trike. My own mother ran alongside me on the sidewalk, taking pictures and waiting for a sign that I was ready to stop and she could carry my trike back to the house. (She was an exceptionally good and patient mother!)
But I was not deterred! I pedaled that entire parade route and my legs were almost too sore to walk the next day–but I did it! It was an early example of the same persistence that kept me writing until I finished The Byzantine Cross, and it’s the same persistence that has carried me through to publishing.
That’s why I chose the image of “A Girl on a Tricycle” as the logo for my newsletter. I’m “Chasing the Dream” relentlessly and eventually I will find my way!!
Below are the pictures my mom took of me on my first “ride or die” experience.
