“Nothing.” She shrugged and gazed down at her lap, carefully dusting crumbs from her legs. “It’s just that, you know … things don’t always work out the way you plan. When I was growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money. My father became ill, and I had to take a job to help out … That’s just the way it was.” A trace of sadness had crept into her voice. “Then, when I got older, I had a girlfriend who entered a nunnery, and, well … I decided to join her.” She looked up at me finally. “But enough about me. What about you? Have you given any thought to what you might like to do when you get older?”
My brain fluttered through a Rolodex of impressive careers, none of which I had any interest in. “I wanna be a scientist,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t question me further.
Sister V. looked puzzled and amused. “A scientist?”
I nodded. My science grades were barely passing, and I was failing math. I probably would have had a better shot at convincing her I wanted to play center for the Harlem Globetrotters.
“How did you come up with that answer?” she asked. “Wanting to be a scientist is very admirable, but do you even like science?”
“Not really.”
Sister Veronica studied me for a moment, and I wanted to slither under the couch.
“To be honest, Sister, I don’t know what I wanna be. Most of the time I feel like I’m not good at anything.” As I spoke, my voice quivered; it was the first time I’d said that to anyone.
She clasped her hands and hunched forward. “Well, that’s okay. Not knowing what you want to do in life is a good starting point. You’re still very young. You don’t need to have your future planned out yet.”
“But you said that when you were my age, you knew you wanted to be a singer on Broadway.”
“That’s true. But God had a different path for me. It’s different for everyone. Believe me—someday you’ll find your special calling, the thing that you really want to do in life. And when you do, you’ll know it. You just have to follow your heart and have faith in God.”