(第一段)I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,
yet she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.
(第二段)Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my opinion. She wanted to know how I thought we should handle things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew nothing about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her questions. It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to form them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how reliable I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.
(第三段)Mrs. Neidl’s motto that year was, “Try it. We can always paint over it later!” I began to take risks. I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing —only things to be improved upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and confidently create something.