On D.C. mother learns a lesson about her family, and herself, during a tumultuous breakfast.

Milton Whitley dropped out of school at age 14 and was not able to read or write for the first 52 years of his life. He ended up homeless -- without any real hope of learning to read -- until he met a tutor in a Montgomery County public library. His education re-started in 2005, when he visited a dental clinic.

Alexandra Russell is a writer and editor in Washington, D.C. that took a martial arts class to spend time with her son, and ended up learning something about herself.

Susan Oliver is a communications consultant in Waterford, Va. She grew up on Long Island, N.Y., where a singing solo and a teacher's encouragement helped her feel powerful for the first time.

James Abbatiello, a science teacher at Hammond Middle School in Virginia, learned he would be a good father when he saved someone else's son.

Rich Baltimore, a sustainability, energy and climate change consultant from the District, recalls the first time he made water out of thin air -- and the chain reaction it set off in his life.

Pablo Simmonds, a realtor and real estate investor from Hyattsville, Md., learned to stop and question before jumping -- literally -- into a new situation.

Loretta Goodwin is a senior director at the American Youth Policy Forum, where she researches, organizes and conducts professional learning opportunities for policy leaders on issues related to education and youth development. She lives with her family in Arlington.

Kathryn Horn Coneway is director of Art at the Center, an art studio for children and families she co-founded in Alexandria, Va. Witnessing a struggling student gain artistic independence, Coneway remembered to let the work to take over.

Chris Myers Asch teaches history at the University of the District of Columbia and coordinates UDC's National Center for Urban Education. He reflects on a childhood baseball team that taught him the fundamentals of manhood.