Terry never felt good about himself. 

Terry was always feeling down and felt as if he couldn't do anything right. 

Terry never told anyone how he felt because he thought they would make fun of him.

Terry was always getting into trouble at home, school, and even in his community.
   
This made him very sad because he knew he would be punished by his mother for his actions.

Many of Terry's friends didn't want to play with him because he was always misbehaving.

No one knew that all Terry really wanted was a little encouragement to be a better person.

One day, Terry's mother told him to do his chores. 

But Terry decided to play around with the mop and then spilled a whole bucket of water onto the floor.

Terry's mother was very angry because of Terry's actions and sent him to his room.
   
"I can't do anything right!" Terry said to himself in an angry voice. Terry was discouraged once again.

Things changed for Terry at school one day.  Terry's teacher, Mrs. Brown, asked each of her students what they wanted to be when they grew up. Mrs. Brown asked each student to stand up and share their dreams.

One by one the students stood up and began sharing their dreams. When it was Terry's turn, he put his head down on his desk and didn't say a word.

"It's okay, Terry," said Mrs. Brown. "Share your dreams with the class."

Mrs. Brown was a very loving and caring teacher. However, she did not like it when her students doubted themselves. Mrs. Brown always told her students that if they worked hard and had faith in themselves, they could accomplish great things in life.

"I have a lot of dreams," said Terry. "But I can't accomplish any of those dreams because I'm always getting into trouble, and I'm too clumsy."

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.

Terry became very excited after Mrs. Brown encouraged him. He lifted his head, stood up, and smiled at the entire class.  

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry. "Can I be a doctor?"

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry. "Can I be a teacher?"

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.  

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry. "Can I be a   policeman?"

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry. "Can I be an artist?"

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.  

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry. "Can I be   President of the United States?"  

"Terry, yes you can," said Mrs. Brown.

"Mrs. Brown," said Terry once again. "Can I be anything I want to be if I have faith in myself and work hard?" 

"Terry, yes you can!" said the ENTIRE class.

From that moment on, Terry was never the same.

* Terry was also a 6th grade teacher.