I don’t think that I will ever forget that day. I remember the exact moment. It affects the way I see myself and the choices I make. In some ways good, and in other ways, not at all. In life, you can experience a call whether young or old. Life calls you in many ways, however one can only hear a the call meant for you. In my case I heard a call, one sounding quiet but bright. Like the call of a bluebird in the distance, if you really listen you can hear it but if you let anything distract you, you may become deaf to it. In 4th grade there was a faint call of a bluebird, calling me towards something that could help me so much in the future. At this age I wasn’t looking at my future but at the present and it has affected me so much. My teacher brought me out into the hall and being the teacher’s pet I was freaking out thinking I did something wrong. My teacher and the other fourth grade teacher were talking and she says to me, “You are an exceptionally smart young girl and you really need to move up to the double advanced math class. What do you say, try it out for the day?” I thought about this, weighing my options; Should I go to the harder math class and be extra smart, or stay with my bestie and help her out… we are never separated. This is where I had encountered my block, the thing that distracting me from my hero’s journey. I decided to try it out and see how it was. The faint chirping of the bluebird got a little closer. I went into the room and my mind was blown with what they were doing. Multiplying and dividing fractions and so much more. I sat down with a worksheet trying to figure it out with little to no explanation. My friend and I were working on a group project at the time and she began crying thinking that I would leave her because she wasn’t as smart and wasn’t good at math. I went back into my classroom where my friend was to see her crying. I promised her that I would never leave her side. Later that day I told my teacher that I wasn’t going to leave my best friend and I was going to help her instead of myself. The chirping blue bird had finally flown away and I had refused my call to adventure. There it was, the bluebird again chirping in the background. I had done DEVO the past few years of my life and loved it so much, however I had to make another choice. My new call, another just like the other testing me again. Do DEVO with people I didn’t really know but get so much faster and better at biking or play basketball with my friends and my little squad. I chose my friends and basketball, and I would regret that choice for many days to come. I could have been a much better biker and have better friends if I had chosen DEVO, but I didn’t want to leave the comfort of my friends. It wasn’t until later in my life that I realized that these were very bad moves on my end. In trying to help my friend and make the bonds with my current ones, it did the exact opposite. I answered the other end of the call, to help my friend and through that she got into advanced classes and began to do better in school. However because of the chance I didn’t take, I couldn’t get into the advanced math class until later. Being an extremely competitive 6th grader, that really hurt. A few years later I couldn’t help my friend anymore. She had gone down such a bad path, following directly in her parents footsteps. When I tried to help, I was hurting her even more. I remember when I had realized the decision I had made and began to try my hardest to catch up to where I would have been. I now see that this was the point in which my journey started, the point where I would chase after my Personal Legend. I decided to pick back up on Devo and made many more friends and better connections with new people. Being the slowest kid in the group hurt a lot so I pushed myself. I pushed myself so hard to become faster, better, and stronger, overcoming the one decision holding me back like a ball chain. I decided to start with extra studying and pushing myself in classes in any way possible. In middle school I had always questioned if it was true, if I was a dumb blonde. If I really couldn’t be as smart as I wanted. When I made that choice I had no idea that it would affect me and disappoint the future me as much as it does now. I tried my hardest to fight off the stereotypes and push through. Pushing myself to excel in the hero’s journey. Whenever I had a conference with my teachers I would make sure that they knew I wanted a challenge. I pushed myself in all extracurricular activities as well. I can’t make a decision now because I’m so afraid that it will affect my life as negatively as those had done. I see the bluebird behind me, mocking me, affecting my life. I always push myself to be smarter and be faster, make better decisions and follow the right path. I am always so hard on myself for not knowing something, not being smart enough, not being fast enough, or strong enough. I push myself to the limits in everything and anything I possibly can, sometimes pushing myself just close enough to the edge that I might slip and fall into the abyss of stress. I set my expectations high and it hurts bad when I don’t meet them. All it took was for me to push myself out of my comfort zone to be a better person than I am today, smarter, faster, stronger, more confident but I choose to refuse the call and that path has lead me deep into the forest questioning my every turn. I will keep pushing myself until I can answer my call and begin seeking my personal legend. Now I see that the bluebird has flown ahead of me, not mocking me as much, even though I still fear it, but now I wish to get close enough, to hear its call once again. This time knowing the song and answering that call. I will pursue my journey and personal legend from here on out. I will be answering the calls, pushing myself through the tests, and learning from my mentors. I am on my hero’s journey. You are too.