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“A Child Called It” Author Motivates, Speaks to Students

Dave Pelzer, award winning author of the novel “A Child Called ‘It,’” gave Bradley students uplifting and motivational advice Wednesday night in the Student Center Ballroom.

“If you walked in with your tissues thinking, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to make me cry,’ you walked in for the wrong message,” Pelzer said. “I want you to walking out thinking, ‘Everything is going to be okay.’”

Finals aren’t as hard as we sometimes think they are, Pelzer said.

“Now who’s afraid of your finals? Well, you’re all going to pass so you can get jobs,” he said. “There’s no reason you should fail a test. You’ve been studying the stuff for months, you’ve been taking notes, you know it. But if you sit down and look at the exam and go, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God, I’m going to fail!’ guess what? You’re going to fail. Relax.”

Pelzer said while the goal of school is to get a job, he doesn’t necessarily want anyone to have a “job.”

“There are many people in America that have something called a job,” he said. “I don’t want you to have a job. I want you to have a mission.”

Even while pursuing a mission, Pelzer said to make sure you never forget about your passions.

“If you can get anything else out of this talk of mine, I want you to live adventure,” he said. “Please don’t lose your passions. Find something you love to do and follow it. Don’t have a job, have a career. Have a mission. I want you, at age 60, to be hot and bothered for each other.”

Pelzer said it’s very important to think about what you say to other people on a daily basis.

“You be really damn careful about what you say and what you do,” he said. “Please watch your hateful words. It might not matter to you, but think about the other person. If you have a good heart, if you have common sense you will prevail and you will kick ass.”

Pelzer only briefly alluded to his well-known novel, “A Child Called ‘It.’”

“Many of you have probably read the book, and I’m thankful that you’ve read it,” he said. “But I’m not all about abuse. I’ve never been about abuse. I’m about resilience. And really, I’m blessed. I wish I was Superman. I always loved Superman… [he] serves and protects others in need.”

Everyone has greatness inside them, Pelzer said.

“I’m always on the lookout for greatness,” he said. “Does that make sense? In the morning, after you put on your makeup or whatever… look at your eyes. Not at the flesh, but look into your heart. That’s where the beauty is.”

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