Proud of This Boy

This is one of Drew's creations from the Cake Decorating class he took at Children's College.

Yes, I'm proud of that. But I'm more proud of the personal lesson he learned from that. See, Drew loves Cake Boss on TLC. He also has a Dad that likes to decorate cakes, had even taken a class at one time. So when he was picking out classes to take at Children's College, he was excited to see a Cake Decorating class on the list. (He also took Guitar Lessons). A couple of days before college started, he told me he didn't want to take the class, he wanted to do something different. He was worried that he'd be the only boy in there and he was worried what the other kids would say. I was apprehensive at first because I knew he really wanted to take it. When he looked at what else was left available during that time slot, nothing really jumped out at him. We let him sit on it for awhile. We weren't going to force him to do it if he was that uncomfortable but at the same time didn't want him to be scared of trying something because of what other people might say. The turning point was when we were talking about it and he said, "I really want to take the class, BUT...." I told him that if he really wanted to take it he should, he shouldn't worry what other people might think or say. I also seriously doubted anyone in the class would say anything anyway. When Todd told him that he was the only guy when he took his cake decorating class, I think that cinched it. He took the class, he was the only boy, he LOVED the class-it was easy to see in his excitement. And you know what? No one made fun of him, his teacher told him she had a boy each time she taught the class, he was also the oldest one in there too. I'm so proud of him for making the decision to do something he really wanted to do regardless of what anyone else might think or say. I hope this was a good lesson learned. He's a strong kid, has always been a leader. He is getting to an age where peer pressure will be worse though and I understand what it's like to worry what others might think. Unfortunately I've always been that way although I've gotten a lot better at it as I've grown older. I have faith he will make good choices. Maybe not always, but that's how we learn and grow. I'm proud of this boy.