I rarely enjoyed my previous job working as a phone customer service rep, but once in a while I'd talk to someone really interesting, intelligent, or inspiring. The terrible, awkward, and weird phone calls are so easy to recall. So when a good one comes to mind, it's truly a special thing. Going through some old papers today, I came across some hot pink post-it notes from one of those rare and wonderful conversations.
The phone call was from a ninety-something-year-old woman. I helped her with whatever she called in about. (I don't remember that part of the call.) And then we continued to chit-chat for a bit. She enjoyed talking to me because I was young and she didn't have many young people (especially young woman) to talk to in her life. So she wondered if she could pass along some tidbits of knowledge that she'd gathered over her long lifetime. Of course, I wanted to hear. And I grabbed my hot pink post-its and jotted down her words as she spoke.
"Don't ever let anyone control you. Don't let anyone tell you how to feel or talk you into something. When you look in the mirror, like what you see. If you fail at something, you'll come back from it. Tomorrow is another day. Don't let anyone change you or tell you how to be yourself. Go out, travel, learn. You'll never learn everything, but you'll know more than you did before."
Just doing some rough math, this woman would have been around my age in the 1940s. I loved that she included the phrase, "Tomorrow is another day." It is one of the famous quotes from Scarlett O'Hara of Gone with the Wind, which came out in 1939.
Coming across those post-it notes today really made my day. I wrote them down because I didn't want to forget the inspiring, insightful words of that lovely, ninety-plus-year-old woman.
And now I've shared them with you. :)
We're often given life advice from family and friends. It's not uncommon to receive advice from a professor, boss, preacher, or other non-related acquaintance. But have you ever been given inspiring insight from a stranger? I only spoke to this woman on the phone for a mere five minutes. I don't remember her name. We never saw each others' faces. But her words moved me.
Has anything like that ever happened to you? If it has, I'd love for you to share. Leave a comment telling me the story!
