Life starts when you are born. But the first thing all parents look forward to is the first word. That’s the first big accomplishment that one can have. I was an early talker. I actually went above and beyond talking and would talk through the late hours every night. My dad used to have to walk me around the whole house trying to get me to stop crying. That should’ve been my parents’ first sign that I would never shut up.

After the crying stopped, the yapping commenced. There was never a moment of silence in the McElhinney house. My oldest brother is 13 years older than I am so I learned to socialize quickly. He would always have different friends that I could talk to, but my favorite part was going to his lacrosse games. He went to a private school in Washington DC and the school was known for their lacrosse team. Going to the games would be a full family outing. At least twice a week we would go to a game. The stands were huge. They surrounded the entire football field and they lifted off the ground allowing for little kids to play under them. The stands were always filled to the brim allowing me to have prime socialization. I would go under the beachers every game and play with the younger siblings of the other kids playing. I didn’t care if their brother played for the same team or not. I would talk to them the entire game.

I hated going to kindergarten. All of the other girls in my class spoke Spanish. I didn’t understand Spanish. I would try to talk to them and for a while, and I just thought that they didn’t like me so they never responded. Eventually I caught on that they did not speak the same language. Even though my friends wouldn’t understand me, I would still talk to them. I don’t know if it was because I liked the sound of my own voice or if I thought that if I talked enough they would eventually catch on to what I was saying. Then my Dad, Dre and I moved to Galway. The first thing I said when I was on the phone with my mom that night was “Mommy, why do none of the girls in my class speak Spanish?” It was almost like everyone in my class speaking English was an invitation for me to talk more. I enjoyed being able to socialize with my peers and having them be able to talk back to me. But my teacher did not. She called in my parents for my end of the year meeting, where she demanded that I get medicated for a condition that I wasn’t even diagnosed with. She simply believed that because I had a lot of energy and loved to talk that I had an issue that needed to be prevented by medication. After that meeting I began to realize that maybe being talkative isn’t good. Ever since then every report card that I had sent home said “talk less work more.” My biggest issue with that was that I was still accomplishing all of my work. I didn’t understand why my outstanding social skills were now degrading me. 

I still did my best to socialize outside of school. I took every chance I got to go out in public. Every weekend I would go to the grocery store with my mom. She would send me to pick up produce while she waited at the deli counter. Every weekend I would return to her and she would ask me why it took me so long, and everytime I would say it was because I was talking with someone. Without fail every time I went to the grocery store an elderly person would come up to me and start a conversation out of nowhere. They always had a look of shock when I would continue the conversation. I always feel proud after talking to an elderly person in a grocery store. 

When I go to soccer practice I always feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. I get to go and socialize with my friends that I don’t see as often. I am making the blanket statement that all soccer players are talkative. It’s a game that involves communication in order to find success. So when doing warm ups, I talk and always say that it’s to “warm up my voice.” I remember one time when I was eleven my team was practicing with older girls who had just been ranked as one of the top five teams in the state. Their coach was the reason. He had terrified every child on the field. When we were tasked with a difficult drill, I turned to the girl next to me asking a clarification question so I could do the drill the right way. As soon as words started leaving my mouth I started getting barked at. I was being told that all I ever do is talk and if I want to be successful, I had to stop. He made me sit out and watch the girls do the drill. I had bever been so embarrassed. He made me terrified to speak the rest of the day. 

Now that I’m older,  I have perspective. I’m hoping to go to college for communications. I’m proud of my ability to socialize with other adults and children. I feel that my ability to talk has opened numerous doors for me. I am grateful that I’ve always been a yapper and will continue to be one.