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Happy Birthday Jenna! (2021-05-02)

 


I wasn't psychologically prepared for our last in-person meeting, about 11 months ago.

She had been a volunteer with us raising money at a school event. She seemed nice, as focused as a high school student could be. 

Then at our last meeting, she UNLEASHED herself. It started from the first couple of minutes, with her humoring with us with various stories. 

Then she began talking about the impact I have had on her, about her feeling when she first read about me, and then the moment she got to meet me. She was complimenting me so much, clearly from her heart. It was so much that I was criticizing myself, just to provide balance. 

Before anyone assumes she is the type to compliment everyone, slow down! 

She is clearly a handful to deal with--opinionated, analytical, outspoken, ambitious, motivated, and lovely at the same time. In other words, she is a lot like the person she was praising! 

Her father was laughing about it all. She said her parents were thankful she was going away to college, and it turned out that her school principal and even the mayor of her area may be holding a "She's leaving!" party. 

She is not the type to compliment everyone and everything, she is clear about the things she likes and the things she doesn't like. It turned out that I have been in her "like" column for quite a while, but I didn't know it. 

I was also unprepared psychologically for the meeting. She is now abroad at college, we had a Zoom call last week. It is humbling when people talk about the impact you have had on them, and you are thinking you haven't done much, and definitely not enough! 

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