Education, The Soul Of Our Life

"I am what I am - neither more nor less! I've always done things my way. I beat to the sound of my own drum. It makes me sad for those who are followers and try to imitate instead of being themselves and doing what makes them who they are. You get the greatest joy out of creation, when it's all yours. God made us all different for a reason. I would rather fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”   C.Crossley said this. I do not know who C.Crossley is, but it is a good motto to live by. Dr. Benjamin Carson who resides here in Baltimore, Maryland and who was director of pediatric neurology at the esteemed Johns Hopkins is a brilliant and famous surgeon. He operated about eight years ago on a friend’s cousin and saved her life. She is now a twenty year old college student.

There is a statement going around wanting signatures to ask him to run for President in 2016. He is a man who came from poverty and a lack of caring about education to the prestigious person he is now in the medical world and our daily world. He speaks gently with a determined manner to instill in all of us the necessity of education as the soul of our life. He speaks with knowledge of having not had many material things growing up with a brother and a single Mom, who stressed education, gets you where you want to go to become a worthwhile person in this world.

His mother had only a third grade education and she wanted more for her two sons. She made them read several books a week and she had them write book reports on the books and she would look them over and put marks on them, although she could barely read them. She made them stay inside instead of playing outside so they would be instilled with the love of reading and education. What a smart lady she was, in the midst of trying to take care of them financially and lovingly and she without an education, wanted them to excel.  As an eight year old, I owned about two books, because we did not have money to purchase them. One was called The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Pepper was their last name) it was not the green pepper I like to eat now. I loved that book and I must have read it twenty times, until I knew it by heart.

 Yes, my heart and eyes adored this simple book. I use to go to the Enoch Pratt Free Library Branch 17 on West North Avenue about four times a week to check out library books, because we could not afford the luxury of books. I worked there when I was about thirteen   putting the returned books back on the shelves. I would peek into the returned books for a glimmer of a new one I could eventually take home for two weeks to ‘own.’ Once they had a sale on books there that were a bit tattered, torn and old. They put them on sale for about ten cents each and since I worked there, I had a first choice before other book lovers would grab them up to own.

I had just gotten paid about five dollars for my work on Saturdays putting the books away and Dad had taken the check to the bank to cash it for me. I took my five dollars and laid aside neatly two dollars to buy the ten cent books. I bought about twenty books and I dragged them home in a shopping bag they gave for multiple books being taken out for reading. These books were MINE now and other than maybe a little worn, a little torn, a little yellow with age, they were MINE. I set them on a shelf in my bedroom in our house which was about four or five blocks from the Pratt library. I laid them out in alphabetical order like they were laid out in the library and I pretended I was the librarian and kids were coming in to take them out. I knew they were in my possession now and I knew I had spent the grand sum of two dollars and oh how happy I was. I now had twenty books and even though the covers were dingy, they looked beautiful to me. I still have The Five Little Peppers book and even though it is yellowish and ragged, I still remember how I loved to reread it in those days, sixty-six years ago.

As Dr. Carson’s Mom made him and his brother write book reports, I wrote inside each book a short summary of the book. Oh high I felt, I had books galore and I felt ten feet tall.

I had the privilege in April to see and hear and shake the hand of Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson when I went to the Carson Scholarship banquet at Martins West which honors the student scholars from all over the area because of their scholarship and community service. My friend Diana Ragonese Mitchell’s young daughter Santina Mitchell had been chosen as a Carson scholar and my husband Jerry and I were privileged to be invited to go there with Diana and Santina.

I was overwhelmed to have this privilege to honor Santina in her quest for esteem in education and for being the fine young and beautiful teen she is and as a double benefit; I saw and heard the wonderful human being, excellent doctor and fantastic Dr.Carson. His Mom named him well because Solomon in the Bible was a very wise man.

Bravo to all the Carson Scholars. I was delighted to be in their company for a few hours and to have my ears hear Dr. Ben Carson’s words and encouragement  to our young students to excel in whatever endeavor they take on.

I am what I am; neither more or less is in the motto. It is a fine adage to believe in and we can add to it that we can be creative, outstanding and we never have to imitate to become famous. We can create our own fame as Dr.Carson has done.

He did this with education as a focal point in his young life and now as a senior, his focal point is still that education is the best honor we can bestow on ourselves and our children.

Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson, you surely are a beloved wise man. Thank you for caring about our children and grandchildren and your honoring them with the prestigious Carson Scholarships is a golden testimonial to a golden person-YOU.

You inspire each and every one of us, regardless of our now age to be exceptional in everything we attempt to accomplish and to be proud of our self.