A Growing Story

Two years ago, Maya would do almost anything to avoid speaking in front of her class. Read one sentence from her desk? Fine. Walk to the front and explain something while everyone looked at her? Absolutely not. Now Maya still gets nervous, but something is different. Last week she explained her group's science project to the class. She knew what she wanted to say, looked up from her notes and even answered a question afterward. So what happened? Maya did not wake up one morning with a new speaking skill. Something happened between Then and Now.

Look in the Middle

Discovery question: If Maya changed, where would you look to find out why? Over those two years, Maya had experiences. One teacher started by asking her to explain one small part of a group project. A friend practiced with her before another presentation. She discovered that knowing her material made speaking easier. She received feedback. She had presentations that went well and a couple she would happily erase from history. Most importantly, she kept getting opportunities to try again. Those experiences added up. That is the interesting part of examining change. It is easy to notice Then and Now. The clues to how you changed are often sitting in the middle.

Think about something that has changed for you. Maybe you draw differently, skate better, read more, organize yourself differently or feel more comfortable meeting new people. Perhaps an interest disappeared and something else took its place. Ask three questions: What was I like then? What am I like now? What happened in between? Try it: Pick one change in yourself and make three quick notes: THEN / NOW / WHAT HAPPENED IN BETWEEN. Put most of your thinking into that last box.

What If You Stopped Liking Something?

Discovery question: Is losing interest in something also a change worth noticing? Maybe you played piano for three years and eventually realized you did not enjoy it. Perhaps you joined a club because your friends loved it and discovered that you did not. You might have been completely obsessed with something at age eight that barely interests you now. None of those experiences were wasted. They gave you information you did not have before. They helped shape what you enjoy, what you want to spend time doing and what you might explore next.

Growth does not travel in a perfectly straight line. There are turns, stops, restarts and a fair amount of messiness. Sometimes you discover something you love. Sometimes you discover a strength. Sometimes you find something worth practising for years. And sometimes the discovery is simply, Nope. I think I am done with this one. That is still learning about yourself. Try it: Choose something you used to enjoy more than you do now. What changed? What did that experience still teach you about yourself?

Your Turn: Find What Happened in Between

Discovery question: Can you trace one change in yourself back through the experiences that helped shape it? Choose one interest, strength or skill that has changed for you. Go backward first. What was it like a few years ago? Now come back to today. What is different? Then spend most of your thinking in the middle. What experiences helped create that change? Maybe you practised. Someone encouraged you. You met a person who introduced you to something new. You struggled. You received feedback. You succeeded. You failed and returned anyway. More than one experience probably played a part. Looking backward helps you recognize something important: you have already changed. Your experiences have helped shape what interests you, what you are good at, what you understand and what you know how to do.

Then look forward. There are experiences ahead that you cannot see yet. You do not need to know exactly where they will take you. Even adults have not completely figured themselves out, which is either comforting or slightly concerning. Look backward to recognize how far you have come and what helped you get there. Look forward to recognizing how much there is still to discover. Your story is still being written, one experience at a time. Try it: Draw a simple line from THEN → NOW. Between the two, add two or three experiences that helped create the change. At the end, add one question: What might happen next?

G6 CD1:2