I recently visited my family in Arizona to attend Trinity’s, my oldest granddaughter, graduation ceremony. It was a special time that reminded me that with hard work and determination, and the support of others, we can overcome anything.

Let me explain what I mean…

I clearly remember the early school years as Trinity would want to read to me. She was so eager to read me a book but because of dyslexia, she couldn’t. Instead, she would page through a book and pretend she was reading. I would sit and listen as tears welled up in my eyes realizing she couldn’t read.

After struggling every day with learning even the basics, she was finally diagnosed in 3rd grade as being dyslexic. The teachers recognized her disability and did a very simple test that revealed her dyslexia.

I was somewhat aware of dyslexia because Jonas, my husband for those who don’t know, is also dyslexic. The difference between Jonas and Trinity is that he didn’t discover his dyslexia until the age of 32.

He suffered all those years wondering what was wrong with him. He thought he was just a “dumb Amish-man.” Which is sadly something that was he was told. As a result, he struggled with low self-esteem for many years.

Trinity’s teachers went into action and gave her the tools and educational therapy she needed to work through her dyslexia. (What a difference a teacher can make. The dedication of teachers who truly care for their students is a gift to our children. Their impact goes far beyond what we can see.)

She worked hard to overcome this disability and with the support of her teachers, the trajectory of her life changed.

Her determination, hard work, and support from her teachers were revealed her sophomore year of high school. Trinity told me she was tutoring students at her school. I was impressed 🙂

She asked me to guess who she was tutoring. I was clueless.

She was tutoring kids with reading disabilities!

Trinity was one of the 3.7 million high school graduates in 2018. But what’s more impressive, she graduated as a Salutatorian and summa cum laude!

Her graduation was meaningful because of her love of learning and working very hard. I couldn’t have been more proud as she gave a speech at her high school graduation.

My heart swelled with pride as I instantly reflected back to the time when she was pretending to read to me!

I don’t know what limitations or disabilities you may be facing but I do believe that with support and determination, you can overcome. Maybe you will never be free of it, but you can learn to manage and find ways to be successful despite it. (I often hear Jonas “talking” to his computer as it transcribes what he says. It’s one way he’s learned to overcome his dyslexia and still show up in life.)

I’ll end with the old saying many of us have probably heard: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

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