A genius in the making???

When my daughter was little I remember walking into high street retailers to buy new clothes and being outraged by the sexist language of the slogans on the t-shirts and jumpers in the girls section. Not to mention how impractical frills and flimsy fabrics were for a toddler who was into everything.

I would often seek out unisex clothes, or head straight for the "boys" section.

In one specific well-known UK store I came across a grey long-sleeved lightweight jumper with the word "Genius" and a pair of spectacles printed on it. This was indeed in the boys section, and NO, there was nothing even remotely similar in the girls section.

So I bought it.

She loved that jumper.

I did too.

That toddler is now a sassy 11 year old, who has her own views on clothing, taking a lot more convincing to even be seen in the boys section, but my determination to ensure she sees the genius that lives inside of her has never been stronger.

My daughter loves maths, technology and science, and generally figuring stuff out.

On Saturday night we played our favourite game on TV, the 1% club...I managed to get as far as the 25% question before getting it wrong, Rose got as far as the 15% question...

"Does this mean I am smarter than 85% of the UK?" she asked

"I guess so I responded" still doing the maths in my head lol

She is one smart cookie.

And I want her to know that she is.

When I was her age (about to go into secondary school) I felt smart. But by the time I left secondary school, I felt far from it.

Attending a strict all-girls Catholic school in the East End of London, with undiagnosed ADHD, and coming from a single-parent working-class family, probably didn't play in my favour.

Plus I could be a bit of a "little shit" from time to time.

But the genius was always there.

I had a few teachers who saw it in me, my English teacher who encouraged my creative writing, and my drama teacher who encouraged me to express myself and follow my creative side.

But I wasn't encouraged to do A Levels, nor to even consider Higher Education.

"Not academic material"

My careers teacher suggested I went into childcare because of my experience of looking after my younger siblings, to be fair I couldn't think of a career I'd like less...and so instead I followed my passion for the arts, got myself a job in a local theatre as an usher, and signed up for a BTEC in performing arts.

Two years later when a few other people in my class at college started applying for university and drama school, I questioned why I had never even thought about doing so before, and a teacher encouraged me to apply to university.

My Mum wasn't so keen, "Who's gonna pay for that?"

But the adventure of moving away from home, and the lure of student loans to pay for it all kept me in the UCAS process...eventually securing me a place at the University of Winchester (then King Alfreds College) where I thrived.

I loved academic life.

I loved being able to use my final year research project to explore the things which interested me, my dissertation exploring how young people in urban environments used the arts to express their cultural identity.

I left in 2000 with a first-class degree, which I followed up with a Masters in Multimedia, Design & Culture.

The point of telling this story?

We all have genius inside us, but depending on our circumstances it isn't always nurtured. Much of it is down to luck and environmental factors.

We often need reminding of our potential, we need support and encouragement as much as an 11-year-old going into secondary school, as we do someone heading into higher education, or starting a new job as a full-blown adult.

My daughter has just done her SATs tests at Primary school which she took very seriously, and she is already asking me about future jobs, and career options.

I guess my role right now is to support her to stay curious, to be open to different ways life could pan out for her, and to ensure no person or no structure holds her back from exploring her own potential.

I guess the other thing I have to work on is accepting that creative genius's are NOT the best at keeping their bedrooms tidy

I know mine was never tidy at her age either.