I don’t occasionally bump into authors. Once I met Jean Little when I was a young girl, the beloved Canadian author whose novels center around characters with a disability. Remembering this is truly heartwarming, as I have her books on display on my bookshelf in my little library (Are two shelves in my bedroom that I stuck together considered a library?).
This summer, I was fortunate to meet another author, but this time, it was not planned. Sometimes, life just happens. Every disappointing moment leads to something great, which is key to finding our magic within us.
I walked into Chapters and noticed an author sitting at a table with his team beside him, talking to one another. What caught my eye was a book about hockey – as everyone knows I’m the biggest hockey fan – but what drew me to the table was the last name. Subban?
I greeted the author and introduced myself, finally working up the courage to ask him, “Are you related to the hockey player PK Subban?” His vague, comical response gave me a laugh, yet I did not forget about my intuition insisting that I was right.
Turns out, I was correct!
We transitioned to talking about the book, as I was very curious about the story. The author shared that his book is about having dreams, and the importance they hold in our lives.
I’ll never forget when he asked me: “What is your dream?”
To be honest, I had no idea what to say in those first few seconds because it wasn’t a question I was asked frequently. After what seemed like one large pause, I shared my two dreams I feel so passionate about – ones that will not be shared in this blog because I too am secretive – and was joyful when I was met with such excitement.
Sharing dreams and speaking them into existence, especially to strangers, is a liberating experience. There are people who know you and support your dreams, and there are people who you don’t know but also support your dreams. I needed to be at the bookstore that day because that was one of the first times I felt that my dreams could not only be achievable, but that I had attained greater confidence.
I learned that no matter how diverse our dreams and goals may be, there seems to be a universal way to achieve them. He told me advice that felt like gold, advice in the moment I really had to reflect on.
“Wait for it. Work for it.”
I was truly left stunned, inspired and in awe.
How can I achieve my very two dreams, the things I imagine out and can picture? Turns out, by waiting for it, and working for it — I must not sit aside and let life pass me by without trying, but also not work for something to a point where it backfires and I lose sight of what is truly important. There is also beauty in waiting that requires the art of patience – something that I have to work at daily!
I went home and read the storybook, adding it to my little library. I cannot wait for my future students to read this wonderful and engaging story, and interpret their own meaning of the author’s message. Especially if the author is the one reading the story.
There’s a saying that people will never forget how others made them feel. There is so much truth to that, because leaving Chapters with the book in my hand, I felt different. I for once believed in the potential that people saw in me as a future educator, the potential the author saw in me. I left with a surge of faith that everything was going to work out, and that my dreams would happen. Most importantly, I learned how to take any disappointment and channel it in a different way to keep me going and believing that when I wait for it and work for it, it will happen to ME.
I will change, and maybe my dreams will change too. If one door doesn’t open, that is because there is a better door out there. But whatever my dreams look like, I cannot wait for when I experience them in real time.
Thank you to the author, who is also an educator and an inspirational speaker. You are an inspiration to many!
Side note:
Meeting an author is a moment that might last 10 minutes or less… a person is truly lucky if they get more. Regardless about the duration, it is about the quality of the conversation.
What I have learned is that authors want to know all about you because you’re the reader. However, as a reader myself, I think I would rather know about the author, who is the face behind words written on text. I am so intrigued about the author’s lived experiences and inspiration for writing their books, beyond the surface level. That however, would require much more time.
Maybe next time I encounter an author and regulate my level of giddiness, will I ask about them.