I remember the song, “Down On The Corner” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, as one of the compositions explored in a music class that I had in elementary school.
I was so excited to have the highly emotionally intelligent female instructor deconstruct it for us and give us parts, as I thought that at last I had found a suitable mentor.
And then I was extremely crushed when she looked at me and wrongly assessed that I had no talent because I did not come pre-packaged and pre-approved as a child from a rich family.
Perhaps the mental blocks I have experienced in my life are not from some undiagnosed clinical mental retardation condition, afterall – as had been repeatedly asserted by “adults” and “peers” alike throughout my formative years.
“You’re just stupid, Athena. Not worth our time.”
Perhaps it is just remnant sludge-programming from all of those who pushed and shoved at me as they jostled for societal status while vying for their own worth-proving.
“If you crush others on your way to the top, then you have less competition to get there” – right?
I also remember the profile photographer in elementary school, and then later, the orthodontist in middle school in an entirely different part of the state both telling me with judgemental disgust that my face was flat.
As if this was a flaw and hideous.
Note that an owl’s face is shaped similarly to fascilitate its ability to gather sensorial data.
And, the goddess Athena’s totem is an owl, so I am proud of having both her name and her totem’s abilities to degrees.
Candid Corvid Productions 