File this under ‘better late than never,’ but I have a few thank yous to share. Some would argue that it’s too late, but I don’t believe so.
Very young me didn’t have access to many books. Our family didn’t have much extra money to spend on books, and with one car which my father drove to work, and no bus service in our small town, the public library wasn’t a realistic option for us.
When I was five, my mother got a job. Our tiny house needed more space and one way for my parents to afford building an addition was for her to go to work. A few years later, with the addition built, my mother decided to keep her job because she liked working and liked the extra money. The extra money meant that when the Scholastic Book Fair fliers came home, my mother was able to say, ‘pick out whatever you want.’ That was a game-changer. My mother didn’t make a lot of money, and it would have been understandable for her to have wanted to get a few things for herself, but she made the sacrifice to buy books for me instead.
Through this selfless act, she opened the door to a world of books for me, and I became a reader. That sacrifice changed my entire life because becoming a reader turned into becoming a writer. I still have stacks of poems I wrote as a child. Most will never see, and should never see, the light of day, but the process of writing them instilled in me a love of writing. To my mother, I love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
In fifth grade, we studied dinosaurs, but I have to admit to not really caring about dinosaurs. As part of our assignment, Mr. Thibeault decided that our class was going to make a book. We were to each research our assigned dinosaur and then write a fictional story about it. My whole attitude changed. I was happy to research dinosaurs if I got to write a story about one. We each received our own book whose author was listed as ‘A. Nicebunchofkids.’ In reality, these ‘books’ were just copies of our stories stapled together, but I was happy. I was a published author. Due to my teacher’s creative approach throughout the year, fifth grade was memorable. educational and fun. Thank you, Mr. Thibeault, for your part in making me a writer.
Of course, school involved other things besides reading and writing and, in high school, that included algebra. I felt as though I was being asked to read a language I had not yet been taught. None of it made sense in my mind, but my algebra teacher, Mrs. Hackett, never gave up on me. She patiently explained concepts to me over and over. She encouraged me and believed in me. I became a regular visitor to her after school help sessions and, although I never excelled at algebra, eventually some of it started to make sense. I still remember the exhilarating feeling of finally solving an algebra problem.
But wait. What does algebra have to do with writing? To write well, you have to be willing to rewrite. Again. And again. Mrs. Hackett taught me how to keep at it. She taught me how to keep trying, even when trying was difficult. Mrs. Hackett, a thousand thank yous wouldn’t be enough.
My publishing path has been long and slow, but I was fortunate to have learned that sacrifices sometimes have big payoffs; that, with a change of attitude, the process can become exciting; and that consistent effort which results in success, feels really good.
We all stand on the shoulders of those who have helped us along the way. With many more stories inside of me, I hope to be saying thank you for a long time to come. Both my mother and Mrs. Hackett have passed, but I believe in my heart that they can hear my thank yous loud and clear. My task now is to find Mr. Thibeault. I have a heartfelt thank you to offer to him.
Janet Costa Bates is the author of the Rica Baptista chapter book series featuring a Cape Verdean American girl navigating family and friend relationships. First in the series is LLAMAS, IGUANAS, AND MY VERY BEST FRIEND (Candlewick), a Junior Library Guild selection. TIME FOR BED, OLD HOUSE (Candlewick) was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and SEASIDE DREAM (Lee and Low), received a Lee and Low New Voices Honor Award. Find her on Twitter or Instagram – @jcostabates.