Ever heard of Anne Sullivan?
She was the woman who taught a blind and deaf child named Helen Keller how to read and write 📝
Sullivan did such a good job that in 1904 Keller became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Anne’s achievement is even more incredible when you learn that she was essentially orphaned as a child, spent time in a poorhouse, and lived much of her own life battling blindness.
Some of Anne’s writings are included in Keller’s book, The Story of My Life 📖
Early on in her position as Helen’s teacher, Anne wrote…
My work grows more absorbing and interesting every day. Helen is a wonderful child, so spontaneous and eager to learn. She knows about 300 words now and A GREAT MANY COMMON IDIOMS, and it is not three months yet since she learned her first word.
It is a rare privilege to watch the birth, growth, and first feeble struggles of a living mind; this privilege is mine; and moreover, it is given me to rouse and guide this bright intelligence.
If only I were better fitted for the great task! I feel every day more and more inadequate.
That last line fascinates me 🤯
Because Sullivan has to be one of the best teachers the world has ever seen. She’s been inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame and Mark Twain referred to her as a miracle worker.
And yet early on she clearly wasn’t confident in her abilities as a teacher…
If only I were better fitted for the great task! I feel every day more and more inadequate.
Goes to show that you don’t need to be the super-confident or self-assured type to achieve success.
You can be full of doubt but still plow ahead and do great things 💪
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