The Fight is Fixed

For some reason I was mad.  I’m not sure if it was something that happened at home or at school, but I was not in the mood to be kicked. When his foot connected with my leg, my fist swiftly connected with his jaw, then his eye, and finally his two front teeth stained my hands with the red drippings of victory. I was not only fighting for that moment, I was fighting for the past: finally getting revenge for all the times I had been picked on in the past and simultaneously fighting for my future: making sure everybody in this school knew not to try me again.  

While the students were saying that I “won” the fight, I didn’t feel like much of a winner. I made one of my favorite college interns cry and I had completely acted out of character. After school, my parents came to pick me up from my grandmother's house.  Looking back, I realize they knew about the fight already, my dad didn’t normally come to pick me up but this day he did.  He walked in with the biggest smile on his face and asked me, “How was school?” 

The win was affirmed by a personal trip for lunch at Pizza Hut! Yes! Just my parental advisory and I celebrated my win with Pizza! My dad was so proud of me and said, “now kids in middle school would think twice about messing with you.” I wasn’t sure about that, but I wasn’t trying to fight anymore either. 

The following year in 5th grade, I won Walt Disney Dreamer and Doer.  Imagine! The kid who the year before was meeting the Principal for the first time for beating up another student was selected to be in a Disney parade?  I knew that there were better behaved students and certainly students with better grades - why was I chosen?  I have no idea, but I do believe that God set it all up for me to meet an angel and to affirm who I would become…  A dreamer & doer. 

A winner.