After yesterday’s performance of The Adventures of Johnny Appleseed by my 3rd grader’s class, my daughter tells me that one of the actors forgot a couple of her lines due to stage fright. She also went on to comment that it was odd that she had stage fright because at last year’s performance, she didn’t. Hearing this, my almost 6 year old shared her point of view:
“It is all about facing your fears,” she said. “When you face your fears, your fears disappear as they get scared of you. But if you don’t face your fears, they become like poison in your mind and stay there and become dangerous.”
I was pleasantly surprised by the little girl’s unravelling of a very complex topic and it made me wonder where she got this understanding from. I wish I could take credit but I’m not sure if I’ve had such a deep conversation with her. I know her father hasn’t either. Could it be a teacher? Or perhaps her own conclusions from the hundreds of books she’s read or listened to since she was a toddler. Whatever the source was, I am impressed by a tender mind’s ability to decipher and present sensible instruction. I am glad that we talk, and that we talk a lot with our children. It isn’t enough to just know but necessary to also comprehend, but most importantly, to apply and convey that information.