29 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

Lesson 8

“It’s titled “Godly Men/Warrior Poets” I think it’s only for boys.” I quipped

“Okay, well let me know what you guys are going to do, ok?” my mom asked

“I don’t want to have to worry about where you guys are.”

“Yes, mam” we replied

“Come on, you guys!” Katia, Grace and the other came over to us, “The next lecture starts in about 6 minutes.”

“Bye, mom!” my sister and I said to our mom as we turned to walk away

“We’ll see you at lunch!”

And with that we walked upstairs to hear the last lecture before lunch break.

It was during lunch that the debate came up of whether or not to go to the next session.

“I think it’s only for boys,” I said “I mean, the one afterwards is only for girls so it would make sense.”

“I don’t know,” my friend Katia argued “They didn’t say that it was only for, we should just go up and see.”

“Besides,” she continued “Grace will have to go either way because her brother is going so we should go to so that she won’t be alone.”

“Yeah, you can just go and see” Katia mom agreed.

I nodded and chewed my sandwich, not thinking much more it after that.

“We’re late!” my complained as we finally reached the ballroom doors after rushing up two escalators.

“And are we sure this is not just for boys?” I questioned dubiously

“Let’s ask,” my friend suggested

She stopped in front of the convention worker who was manning the door to the room.

“Um...  Do you know if this is just for boys, or is it boys and girls?” she asked

The man smiled, “I think it’s for both, I saw some girls walk in and the lecture is about what godly men are so I think it’s good for girls to be there too. You know, so they can know what godly men are supposed to be like.”

His answer seemed plausible so I shrugged. “Okay might as well.”

He opened the doors and we crept forwards, I didn’t see to many girls, but at his point we were already inside the room so it seemed futile to turn back now. We walked further and further forwards in the room. Because we were late they only seats left were up in the second to front row. I bit my lip and walked up and willed myself to be invisible.

We slipped into the seat sand sat down. I pulled out my notebook and pen and prepared to take notes.

“Do you have a pen I could borrow?” Katia asked me again.

“Sure,” once again I reached into my bag and pulled out a pen.

“Here.” I handed it to her.

Eric Ludy continued to talk and as he did I began to become alarmingly aware of just how few girls were in here. I fidgeted nervously in my seat but continued to listen and take notes.

All the sudden though Eric stopped in his speech and looked down at us.

“By the way girls,” he said smiling “You’re not supposed to be in here, this is only for boys, but it is ok.”

I died. I died right there in my seat. In a mad scramble my sister, my friends and I rushed to put our stuff in our bags and creep out. My sister and friends rushed out ahead of me as I struggled to put my bible and notebook back into my purse. I jumped up to rush out after them.

CRASH

CLATTER

THUMP

THUMP

THUD

A pen went flying from my lap and leap up to the very front of the room.

In my friends hurry to rush out of the room she had thrown the pen I lent her onto my lap and I hadn’t noticed.

My eyes widened and I stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.

The speaker chuckled, he had just been talking about the importance of boys being gentlemen to ladies and such and such.

“Boys,” he said in a teacherly voice, “Here’s a good chance to be a gentleman; someone hand her, her pen.”

My mortification was out of control by now, I could feel hives breaking out down my neck and cold sweat running down my back. I swallowed and prayed in my head that this wasn’t really happening.

My hands shook and I wished that my friends hadn’t been so quick to rush out. Now I stood here alone in front of a convention of nearly two hundred teen boys.

A boy in the front row to the right of me jumped up, picked up the pen and handed it to me. In utter and complete embarrassment I grabbed the pen. I walked as quickly as I could to the back of the room staring at the ground the entire time. I flew out the door and stood still shell-shocked outside the lecture hall.

“Where were you?” My sister asked, “We thought you were right behind us.”

“I guess it was only for boys then? Huh?” the convention worker asked

I nodded my head and then burst out laughing.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this point and laughing seemed like a better option so I did.

When I finally stopped my friends stared at me. “What happened?” they asked

There are many lessons I learned from this experience, some generic and some unusual:

I learned that I really need to pay attention to details.

I learned that I need to check the facts before I jump into things

I learned that if you’re ever in an embarrassing situation you shouldn’t leave your friends behind, because I knew how it felt.

But furthermore, I learned that I should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, lend Katia a pen during a convention again.