Member-only story
Thank People Who Don’t Believe in You
They influence and inspire us just as much as friends and allies.
Most people dedicate achievements to their loved ones. Friends. Mentors. Colleagues. But what about the ones who never thought you’d amount to jack? They deserve your thanks, too.
Sure, you needed support and encouragement.
But you also needed the opposite. Someone to say you weren’t good enough. To light a fire in you. Someone to strive against. To prove wrong. They didn’t mean to help you, but they did.
The first person to do that was my kindergarten teacher, Miss Grimm. She told my parents I’d probably wind up as a stripper or worse. As if sex work were something to be ashamed of. But the message came through.
And then there’s the professor who snubbed me at my first book festival. The one who looked at my novel and rolled his eyes.
I’m grateful to the mentor who once cut me off mid-sentence at a hotel bar as I was trying to thank him for inspiring me, and that I enjoyed his latest book. He looked at his watch and said he was “kind of busy,” then turned around and ordered another drink.
And here I was, wondering why he was divorced.
