I've never been a very big risk taker with most of the things in my life. Once I find something I like I pretty much stick with it. For example, my mom use to give me a Coke to settle my stomach in the morning. You know what I do every morning when I get up? I drink a cup of Coke. I find a pair of pants, or shirt, or running shorts, I buy numerous quantities and wear them until I can't any more. I completed three degrees at Mercer University because it was what I knew and was comfortable with (especially important when I was working on my doctoral degree with 5 kids and a full time job teaching and coaching two sports). If something works for me, I stick with it.
There is an area of my life that I have always been willing to take big chances and that is with people! Pretty surprising considering my disdain for taking chances in the other areas of my life. In high school I made friends with the guy who looked like Weird Al because he was funny and never missed giving me a high five when we passed. Good thing I was willing to take a chance and make friends with that guy because he has turned out to be my best friend for over 20 years and my husband for 9. I took chance after chance with each of my pregnancies and that has turned out pretty good with the five kids that I have been blessed with.
Perhaps the biggest people chances I take is in my job. Now I'm not going to lie, I've been burned a few times by taking chances on people, but 97% of the time my willingness to take a chance on a student, or athlete, or teacher, or parent, has enriched my life for the positive. I took a chance on letting small, slow kid that worked hard and had a funny sense of humor run on my cross country team. He sent me a post card from his 1st Peachtree (with a time that I would only hit if I was on a motorized vechile) thanking me for giving him a chance to fall in love with running. I took a chance on a hyperactive student, who really wasn't into school but wanted to cheer and dance. There were days I thought I was going to throttle that child, but this year he graduated from Mercer and told all his professor that I was a person that inspired him to become a teacher. There was a loud, abrasive teacher and a quiet, keep to themselves teacher that I took a chance on and now they are two close friends.
Two years ago I took a chance on an athlete who is not built like an athlete. She was slow and awkward when she moved. She was quiet and always looked like she was going to scream if she got hit by the ball (she never did). She was polite, tried hard and was a good student. She never had anything bad to say about a team mate and she showed up to every single opportunity that we offered for skill improvement. She still does. She's played injured. She's played scared. She's played her heart out. When I saw her at the end of her first season I told my assistant coach that she would be a varsity player before she graduated high school. My assistant coach thought that was going to be a lot of work and a miracle to happen. I've taken a chance on this athlete for three years now and you know what? The chance has paid off. Now it's not just me who notices the athletes work ethic, her skill and her heart. Her team mates and other coaches walking in the gym have noticed. Some don't even recognize the athlete on the court now from the athlete she was just last year. My assistant coach today said, "I hope you're taking her on varsity because she has earned her spot. I don't know what happened, but she has definitely become a varsity caliber athlete!" I just smiled and told her, "I was willing to take a chance and she fell into the 97% category!"
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