Little Miss Fired-Up

Jane Jenkins Herlong

July 10, 2020

So, when will your reflection show who you are inside? It’s up to you.

I remember when the movie Mulan was popular. There was a song the main character sang that made my heart sing too. When will my reflection show who I am inside? I was so taken with the lyrics that I made my children listen to that song repeatedly. Many times it takes years before your inside catches up with your outside.

Now, here is why this was so important to me.

My parents placed me in the “C” section when I was in the first grade. There are sayings that might possibly describe their decision: the wheel is turning but the hamster is dead, a French fry short of a Happy Meal, or the cornbread is not done in the middle. Bless my heart… But it was in the C section that I experienced an A+ lesson in “adversity for beginners.”

I remember the day well. The high school girls were coming to my first grade class to select the cutest girls to compete for the coveted title of Little Miss Merry Christmas.

I was a tomboy. I had chosen to wear corduroy pants, a flannel shirt, and penny loafers. I brushed my hair and shined the coins in my shoes. I was looking fine.

The only glitches were my over-sized lips and the loss of my two front teeth. But that didn’t stop me from marching myself to the front of the classroom and smiling my heart out. To say the least, my quest to be selected to be a contestant for the coveted title of Little Miss Merry Christmas was an epic fail. But one thing it did was to award me a much better title, Little Miss Fired-Up.

In high school I accidentally saw that my IQ was the lowest in the class. I was diagnosed as being dyslexic while teaching dyslexic children. I was told that I needed to go to a special school for extra help. My SAT scores were a nightmare, and no colleges I wanted to attend accepted me.

Then Little Miss Fired-Up showed up again. I worked extra hard to make good grades, I sat in the front of the class, and I recorded my teachers on my pitiful cassette player to be able to hear the lecture again. I had no idea that I was an audio learner until I figured it out for myself. The greatest lesson I learned—don’t let other people define who you are.

Because I learned how to motivate myself during my early years, I was blessed with many awards:

Voted my college’s highest honors
Contestant in the Miss America Pageant
Author of five award–winning books
Signed a book contract with one of the top five publishing houses
Inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame
Comedian on SiriusXM Radio

This is no “pat myself on the back” moment. This is the truth: if you work hard, use determination, seek counsel from successful people, and refuse to let others define you, your life will be an amazing journey.

I have said repeatedly when I speak at conferences and conventions that the greatest four letter word in the dictionary is next. Learn quickly that many will reject you, so move on, and move on quickly. Find hope in hopefully situations, and stop hoping in hopeless detours. I can assure you that you will find a way to find another path and blaze a different and more productive trail.

So, when will your reflection show who you are inside? It’s up to you.

Jane Jenkins Herlong

Jane Jenkins Herlong is a Southern humorist, Sirius XM comedian, member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, and the best-selling author of four books. Jane travels the country sharing her sweet tea wisdom and Southern fried humor. For information on how to contact Jane for speaking engagements or to purchase her books, CD’s or MP3’s, visit www.janeherlong.com

Jane Jenkins Herlong

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