October 2025
Intermediate to advanced
280 pages
6h 2m
English
I’m nine years old, standing on top of a pile of cow manure at the Natick Community Farm, holding a shovel and giving directions to the boys in my group.
My parents had signed me up for the summer program (ahem, against my wishes) and this was our first task: Shovel a giant pile of cow poop from one location to another. As my two teammates stood paralyzed, I climbed to the top of the pile and took charge.
“You, start shoveling over there. You shovel over here,” I ordered. “I’m starting up here,” I said while standing knee-deep in manure.
The boys didn’t skip a beat. They appreciated that I took charge when they felt lost, and more importantly, that I was willing to get just as dirty as they were. ...
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