I’ve been chilling, drinking a ginger beer and reading Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – an absolutely beautiful, engrossing auto-biographical book written in free-verse poetry.
I am nearly done, but thought I would add a quick update and enter one of the mini-challenges.

Readathon Mini-Challenge: Classic Words of Wisdom. from Allie @ A Literary Odyssey

The challenge is to share your most inspiring quote from a classic.

Here is mine.

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”
“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault- because I would not take the trouble of practising…” Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet                                                                                      (Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 31)

I know, it is a bit long, but it comes from my favourite book, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I use this to remind myself basically that practice makes perfect and I cannot blame my faults as just being me – I can control who I am and how good I am at something.

It is something I can take forward in my teaching career too. When a child tells me they cannot do something, I can just tell them about how if they work hard and take time to practice, they will get better.

Also, Elizabeth Bennet is one of the greatest literary heroines of all time and she clearly isn’t perfect, so it reminds me that I don’t have to be a perfectionist!