Kathy Day
At age 15, I lived a pretty typical middle-class life with a stable family, good parents and close friendships. I was very involved in sports and other activities so didn’t have a lot of time to get in trouble. But when I turned 16, that stability was tested. My family moved to Denver the middle of my senior year to a very affluent area where all the kids drove nice cars, lived on golf courses and had money. I was thrown into a huge high school that had thousands of students, most of who were divided into sororities and fraternities. I tried to make friends but had nothing in common with these kids. I tried to join the community service club and they rejected my application because “no one knew who I was.” I went out for basketball and was cut from the team. I ate lunch at the table with a few other new kids and the dozen or so minority students. I started hanging around the druggy kids, mainly because they were the only ones who would even talk to me. I completely changed from an A student, athlete and captain of the pom squad to a shy, insecure, unknown. I dated a guy who was a drug dealer and put myself in many situations where I could have been arrested or killed. My self-esteem hit an all time low. Throughout this time, my mom was there to encourage me. She knew about the trouble I was getting in but supported me and tried to help me find a better path. She encouraged me to get a job and to focus on work, studying for college and the time after I would graduate. When my teachers tried to talk me out of an internship at a radio station, my mom told me to do what I wanted to do. It was the best decision I ever made, I met great adult friends and mentors at the station who encouraged me to pursue journalism. When the school counselor told me to go to a small liberal arts college in Nebraska that would give me the individual attention I needed, my mom laughed and told the counselor she didn’t even know her child and should not be giving out rotten advice that could affect a person’s life. The next day I applied to CU-Boulder, where I really wanted to go, and I was eventually accepted into the broadcast journalism track there. If my mom had not been there as my biggest fan during that time, I might not have made it through those last couple of years of high school.
That was 27 years ago, and ever since, my mom has continued to be my biggest cheerleader. She taught me not to listen to the people around me who were doubting my abilities and who tried to tell me what to do with my life. She reminded me that I walked in the shoes of someone who had no friends and no one believed in, and to be sensitive to others who might be in a similar situation. I’ve tried to do that throughout my life, helping others to fit in, to not feel alone and most importantly to do what they want to do – not what others tell them to do.
Today I own my own successful business, and am married to a great guy who has become another huge support to me. I am the mother of two young boys, and I hope they rely on me, as I did on my mom to get me through the tough times. My mom is still one of my best friends, she still always supports me and offers great advice.
