The Story Of A Woman Who Didn't Give Up, See How She Used Her TalentAnd Change Her Life and The Children Around Her

Tilda Kemplen grew up and still lives in the rugged mountains of East Tennessee. She went to a one-room school through the eighth grade, and then repeated the eighth grade because there was no high school to attend. Later, as a cook for a Methodist Mission school, she became determined to go back to school. She enrolled in high school at age 32 - with a husband, three small children, a job as a cook, and a home to keep - and graduated five years later. Then she earned a college degree in early education.

Tilda wanted to help the mountain children avoid the problems she experienced. She wanted to establish a program for them, but there were no funds and no buildings. So Tilda volunteered her time and held her class in the fields. Later, she raised funds for a child development center, which has employed over six hundred persons in a county with a twenty-six percent unemployment rate. Tilda, who in Washington received the Jefferson Award for outstanding public service, says, "Everybody has some talent. If I can do it, you can too."

Think about it. It's not your situation, but what you make of that situation, which determines what you will accomplish with your life.

Since you've read this very short story, try to think on these:

1. Today, I will spend more time thinking about what I do have rather than what I don't have.
2. Today I will ____________________.