The Jacket

Stories

I think people learn by listening to other people and their stories. I learn a lot from my parents and their stories. The ideal learning place is everywhere. To create more learning environments is to know you don’t have to create them; they’re everywhere. I have a problem in that I’m not confident in myself. I don’t like the way I look or feel. But that has all changed because of my family and friends and my “everywhere” lesson.
I always wear my favorite blue sweater because I feel like it hides me so people can’t really see what I look like. Which is a good thing because well there more to love with me. So all of my friends and family always tell me to take my jacket off, but I can’t. Every day I unzip it a little but by the end of the day it’s all way back up again and I feel like I’m getting nowhere.
However, a couple of months ago I forgot my jacket at home and so I was left with nothing to cover myself with. And that day was awesome because everyone told me I looked really cute. The next day, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to leave the jacket off or not, but you can probably guess what happened. Yep, that’s right- I put it on. No one said anything to me. As an experiment the next day I left my jacket behind again. I got so many compliments it was crazy.
So now, I’m feeling so much better about myself. What I have learned from this was that everyone is pretty in their own way: it just takes some people a little longer to realize it. And now, I’m more confident than ever, and I went out and bought cute clothes and have decided to stay this way for a long time. And I still miss my jacket but I’m glad I gave it up: I’m much happier now. And I get a lot more compliments and just a few ask where my jacket is. I tell them in a good place. So this is my story.