My earliest memory is from when I was 4 years old. I was sitting in my pre-kindergarten class and I very much had to go to the bathroom. However, I had recently arrived in America from Korea and I was too shy to try to speak English and ask to go to the bathroom. Also, there was a humongous picture of Barney in the bathroom and I was afraid of it. So, I closed my eyes and hoped that my need to go to the bathroom would go away, but instead I peed in my pants. I was very relieved but also embarrassed. My very nice teacher hurried over to me and reached out to me....and that is all I remember.
Probably the fact that I felt so much inner turmoil; my shyness, my insecurity, my strong desire to go the bathroom, my embarrassment; was what made this moment so memorable.
My personality has changed in that I am now able to confidently ask a teacher whether I can go to the bathroom. Thank goodness! But I can also see a similarity, in that I still often feel shy and afraid to say how I feel.
