The entire freshman class of Carlisle High School was gathered in the auditorium. We were wrapping up a day full of STEM activities with a large dry-ice experiment. Three hundred kids watched as a white cloud of vapor shot into the air and sunk to the floor, slinking around the ankles of the front row spectators. As the auditorium erupted into a frenzy, teachers and staff began to clean up the mess and prepare for the next day. I was chatting lightly with my friends when I heard a staffer’s voice. “Can I get some helpers to carry this tarp outside?”
My hand shot up into the air (yeah, I know, I’m a teacher’s pet, I get it). After a moment, the staffer selected two boys from the front row to help him. He glanced around the group of kids in front of him, searching for another volunteer. “Maybe we could get some strong boys to help me out?”
What? I immediately lowered my hand. I looked around at the kids around me; a majority of the hands in the air belonged to girls. Did he really not think we were capable of carrying a tarp?
I stewed about this incident for a while afterwards. It was disrespectful! It wasn’t like we were little kids. We were freshmen in high school; we could carry a dang tarp, thank you very much. It seems silly, but I was bugged by his belief that I was incapable. Perhaps it was because I was afraid that I truly was.
For a good portion of my life, I have felt incapable. I have a disability that leaves me incapable sometimes. As a military kid, I move frequently which makes fitting in incapable. I’m constantly being told I’m incapable for some reason.
Sometimes, I’m the one telling myself that.
I moved away from that high school last year, and it was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do. I’ve moved about seven times, but that was the hardest one I’ve ever endured. I spent many days crying and reminiscing over the friends and memories I made at my old school.
After months of feeling down about the move, I was struck with an idea. I wanted to create something that would help other military kids. I didn’t want anyone to have to suffer through the trials of military life alone; I wanted to offer support and advice to my peers.
I was thrilled with the idea at first, but soon I began to worry about my capability. I was just a teenager, I didn’t have a ton of experience, and I had no idea how to start an organization.
Instead of pursuing the idea further, I buried it and tried to move on.
But I just couldn’t let it go.
Even months later, I would find myself dreaming of the future safe haven I would create for military kids. But every time I would fantasize about my organization, I was stopped by the little voice in my head that told me I was incapable.
But one day I was done. I was done listening to that stupid little voice telling me that I was not capable. I was done being limited by my own mind. I texted one of my best friends about my idea, and the project immediately sprang into motion.
After months of creating a website, recruiting writers, editing articles, and prepping social media posts, my friend Matthew and I launched our website Bloom in April. It is an online safe space where military kids can go to learn, get connected, and feel empowered. We offer advice, feature military kids and their talents, and encourage them to share their own stories. We are even working on a video series featuring different duty stations! Even though we are only a month old, we've already reached tens of thousands of people, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.
If I had listened to the voice in my head that told me I was incapable, Bloom never would have happened. I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for helping other people by sharing my experiences. I wouldn’t have realized that I am capable of making a difference in the world.
And you are too. We are all capable. If we stop listening to the little voice in our head that tells us we are incapable, we can do amazing things.
Click here to check out Bloom, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook! @bloommilitaryteens