Sanders’ Thumb Earns Two Thumbs Up

Elementary school days are filled with fun, especially around the holidays when art projects and parties fill up the class time. Thanksgiving was one of those special holidays, and we can all remember the ever-popular hand print turkey art project—tracing your hand with paint to create that beautiful work of art that Mom would treasure.

But this project was a bit confusing for little Samantha Sanders because her turkey looked different from the rest. For some reason, he had a short neck and small head, but Sam just put the ever-familiar “Samantha Sanders smile” on her face and concluded that her turkey was special—just like her—and her mother would still love it.

Now a junior, Sanders has the same positive outlook on her undersized thumb.

“It’s a special part of me.  It makes me special,” commented Sanders.

Although she is uncertain why she has this unique quality, she has learned to live with the many challenges and funny moments the thumb presents her.

“Texting is sometimes difficult, especially when I get my nails done,” said Sanders.

Despite some disparaging remarks from her peers, Sanders has her supporters.

“I’ll be having a bad day, and then, all of a sudden, I’ll see Sam’s little thumb, and it will make everything better,” said senior Kaley Kinek.

Colten Greiss finds the little thumb “super cute,” and Alyssa Sell simply says, “It speaks for itself.”

“A lot of people make fun of me for it, but I just shrug it off and say,’Hey, I like giraffes,’” said Sanders.

Her friends, coaches, and teammates find “the thumb” to be a topic of discussion quite frequently. In fact, girls’ soccer coach Mike Boyer often teases Sam about it by saying that athletes must have a thumb of at least four inches to participate in the sport. Despite this specious requirement, Sanders remains a member of the soccer team, and all of her teammates enjoy the laughs both Sanders and her unique thumb bring to the team.

“We win games for the thumb,” added Sanders.

There is no denying that Samantha Sanders is a unique individual with an even more unique thumb. Nonetheless, Sam lives with a positive attitude and even, at points, enjoys the attention her thumb gets.

“Hey, not everything in life is perfect,” concluded Sanders.