╨╧рб▒с!■  ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ье┴!` °┐шAWN1... .$>╟>╟Ї       дВВооооВЦЦЦЦЦ в Ц╟юооооооо▓┐ вa *▓оооооооооооЛ оооо▓╡ б оооо▓▓оооооa ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ My name is Cassandra Duncan. I grew up an only child. I was also an only grandchild on both sides. The youngest of all my cousins and the only child in a small neighborhood that consisted of a bunch of adults, I never really learned what it meant to just be a kid. And I certainly never learned how to relate to other children. Accustomed to being around primarily adults, I was always mature for my age. Even my own friends often annoyed me during my adolescent years. I had a lot of people who invested in me, and I excelled at most of my many and varied hobbies. I did well in school, often knowing how to do complex math problems before the concept had even been introduced to our class. Looking back, I m sure I was quite smug, although I didn t realize it at the time. Unfortunately, self-awareness wasn t something I learned until many years later. In high school, I began to tire of the pressure placed on me by my family and their high expectations. I gradually stopped my extra-curricular activities, including music and art lessons, and chose to work instead. I graduated at the top of my class, although I wasn t valedictorian perhaps because I didn t want to give my overbearing family the satisfaction. And then I chose a large public university a lot farther from home than the small private college my parents hoped I d attend. I wanted to be a small fish in a big pond for a change. In college, I was involved in few outside activities. I did pledge a sorority and even served as its president, but only after several of my sisters convinced me I d be great at it. After a handful of jobs that paid the bills right out of college, I finally went to work for a large investment firm. There I continued the trend of just meeting my potential, only taking on new challenges when someone brought it to my attention that I d be perfect for the opportunity. I was never one who saw myself with a family. Not wanting to be tied down by the constraints of a husband and kids, I always assumed I d never marry. But then I met Don in 2010 and agreed to marry him after so many of my friends and family pointed out what a great couple we made. Our son was born just over a year later. And before I knew what had happened, this externally motivated, single-for-life, independent career woman was a stay-at-home mom. I m proud to say this new role suits me. I m driven, not to do great things for myself, but to spur my son on to even greater ones. I still don t know how to relate to children in general, but I know how to distinguish between the slightest little nuances of my son s tired cry and his hungry cry. I still don t know how to be a kid, but I m hoping he ll teach me. Despite a lifetime of often falling short of my own true potential, I ve always held on to a quote by the writer James Baldwin:  The world is before you, and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in. That always sounded like something I wanted to do. I just never knew how. The moment my son entered the world, I knew I had achieved it. Р Т Ф Ц ╢╕║╝№■мо░▓:<>@фш¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙¤∙h>{зZТ Ц ╕╝■о▓<@цш╞╞╞╞╞╞╞╞╞╞╞╞8$ & Fd$d%d&d'd(d)fN╞ O╞ P╞ Q╞ R╞ A$ ,1Рh░╨/ ░р=!░а"░а#Ра$Ра%░░─░─ Р─Z 2└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ2(╪ш 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР└╨рЁ 0@P`pАР8X°V~OJPJQJ^JО@ё О Normal4$$ДДДdддA$]Д^Д`Дa$3567>*B*CJOJPJQJ\]^JaJphPPЦ{я Heading 1$dдрдxA$5CJ$\aJ$PPЦ{я Heading 2$dдhдPA$5CJ\aJZZЦ{я Heading 3$dддPA$5B*CJ\aJphfffZZЦ{я Heading 4$dдЁд(A$6B*CJ]aJphfffZZЦ{я Heading 5$dд▄д(A$5B*CJ\aJphfffZZЦ{я Heading 6$dд╚д(A$6B*CJ]aJphfffDAЄ бD Default Paragraph FontRiє │R  Table NormalЎ4╓ l4╓aЎ (kЇ ┴(No ListH>ЄHЦ{яTitle$dдрдxA$5CJH\aJHhJhЦ{яSubtitle$dдhдPA$'6B*CJ0OJPJQJ]^JaJ0phfffЇ $    шшЇ GР╠Зz А Times New Roman5РАSymbol3&Р╠ Зz А Arial7Georgia@"ёМЁ╨h!Ёа┤┤ББr4d2ГЁ ¤XЁ ?ф>{з2а    Unknown■       └FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8Ї9▓q■ рЕЯЄ∙OhлС+'│┘0ШРШд м╕ ─╨ ▄ш0 8DLXx ДР░@@@Aspose.Words for Java 11.8.0.01 Normal.dot@■ ╒═╒Ь.УЧ+,∙о0└ PX` lРШа и╕░ Title ц   !"#$%&'()*+,-./012■   4■   6789:;<■   >?@■   Root Entry         └F@1Table        б CompObj        3qWordDocument        .$SummaryInformation(        5╚DocumentSummaryInformation8            =Ё                         ■   ■   ■   ■   ¤