Destiny

She sat staring up at the moon. The sky was clear, the air crisp and the boldest nighttime light hung low in the sky so huge and so close she thought she could maybe reach out and grab it like a big, cold beach ball.  "You can be anything you want to be," he had said.  Like it was the easiest thing in the world.  At forty, that statement was new to her.  It was exhilarating and depressing all at the same time.  If she could believe it, think of the possibilities!  Of all the worlds that would open up to her!  She wanted nothing more than to reinvent herself.  Her heart and soul ached for it!  But was there really still time?  She couldn't imagine starting a new venture now.  How she wished it would have been the message she received in her childhood.  Instead, she was told she couldn't compete with the boys, that she wasn't smart enough to really do anything important.  The message she had received was that she wasn't good enough, would never be good enough, that she just didn't measure up.  The boys on the playground and at the bustop told her that when they spit on her or tried to cram her into the trash bin at school.  Her parents told her that when they refused to allow her to play on her brother's soccer team.  The teachers told her that when they ignored her silent cries for help.  Now she was older, stronger and in control of her own future.  What would she want to be if she could be anything?  It was a daunting question.  Overwhelming, even.  But one that Destiny was willing to spend some time exploring and she planned to start immediately.