One of the most unforgettable people I have worked with was good ol' Zennie. She was one of the newest employees in the school where I was teaching. I don't particularly remember her style of teaching, but I do remember her for her interesting personality.
Zennie's goal was to find and marry her dream partner. But she was worried; she was already about to land in the terrifying thirties. The small, morena lady wasn't particularly striking (she reminded me of Whoopi Goldberg) and nobody, it seemed, wanted to ask her out.
But the little lady was well-equipped; she had a lively, wacky personality! One time, she was running like Lydia de Vega from the street corner because she was late for work, this while she was in a dress and high heels. She ran in to our quarters just as we were filing out for our classes, and with a smile on her lips, grabbed her manuals and promptly changed cadence, walking like a queen to her classroom... and suppressing her gasps.
Another time, she came in a funny-looking skirt that resembled a chef's apron, tied sidewards. "What are you guys laughing about?" she asked as we kept laughing.
Another time, one of her students made some unexpected remarks in front of a visiting superior. She gritted her teeth in terror while shaking her head as she stood behind the bemused visitor. "Oh, no, don't say that, don't say that!" she frantically conveyed in muffled whispers, with a face that appropriately resembled the ridiculously funny character Mr. Bean.
But the thing I most remember was her laughter. She made every moment a humorous moment. Sometimes, she would impersonate some funny student, other times, she would talk like a real comedienne. But then I thought, with a personality like that, who would want to marry zany Zennie? I hate to say it, but, at that time, I felt her prospects weren't really that promising.
And then it happened. One day, around two years later, after I had gone on to another job, I was in a cab with a girlfriend and we were stuck in heavy traffic. When I looked out the window, I noticed a familiar figure walking merrily down the sidewalk. It was Zennie, walking hand in hand with a guy! They were both laughing as they walked. When she saw me, she peered through the cab's window and made a funny face. She shrieked, "Hey! I know you and you know me! Hihihihihi!" before walking off with her equally jolly partner.
Zennie met her goal. And what's more, what may have seemed to be her stumbling block became her stepping stone.
Now, how about you? Are you meeting your goals? Or, better still, do you have goals? Just how important are your goals in your own pursuit of happiness?