"Alright class, I'm going to put you into groups. If I say your name, I want to you go sit by the eagle picture." my teacher says.

"My dad loves eagles! I can't wait until my name is called so I can tell him about the photo." I think.

"Laura, Brad, Jessica, Marcus... If that's you, head over the the eagle."

"Next, these are the cardinals."

"Cardinals are the state bird of Indiana and they have cool hair." My hopes rise.

"BJ, Heather, Gregg, Katherine, Leslie, Reader...Go sit by the cardinal!"

She lists the blue jays and the robins.

"Hey Jake, come over here." I turn around to see the teaching assistant and Eric picking his nose. I follow them to the back of the room by the bathroom.

There is a photo of a crow.

"This is our reading group."

I'm a crow?

***

Reading didn't come easy for me. It was brutal.

I spent most of my school years dodging reading - hiding, listening to conversations...and getting really good at guessing.

To this day, a panic attack still swells if someone asks for a volunteer to read aloud.

***

After I wrote my book, someone asked about an audiobook.

I had no plans to go that direction until a good friend punched me in the face with, "You say you wrote this book for people who were in your spot years ago. Would you have grabbed a book and read it then?"

No....but I would have listened to one in the car. DANG!

That evening, I turned on zoom and recorded myself reading the intro of my book. Then, I watched it...and deleted it.

I tried again the next day....and the next...

***

Yes Reader, reading is still hard.

Maybe the cards are stacked against me.

But, I'm a crow.

​
In my 40s, I finally realize...

Crows aren't alone.

Crows are scrappy.

Crows are resilient.

Crows can fly too.

Jake

P.S. My book, Leadershit, is available on Audible! And yes, that's me reading aloud.