#304

And they're off.... Megan to 5th grade, Michael to 8th, Cole to 6th grade and Sophie to 7th (our biggest 'transition' of the four, Sophie to junior high). Since Michael and Cole are BMOCs now, I told them, "Nothing makes a big dog look weaker than picking on little dogs." This, of course, was followed by confused silence. Let's face it, advice from parents that's clunky, preachy, and out-of-date is a time-honored tradition. Nonsensical, pointless, impossible, dumb... who will carry the torch if I don't? I'm a master at awkward too. So M and C looked at me funny, felt sorry for me, then explained they don't see younger kids much, and don't notice them, and no one really picks on anyone else. Wait. Now I was confused. No one picks on anyone else? What about the skaters mocking the preppies? What about jocks picking on skaters and metal-heads picking on jocks? Or whatever. I took some shit from dudes. That doesn't happen anymore? That's not fair! So bullying isn't funny, and I know it's both policed and perpetrated differently than it was back in the '80s. What's important – besides the security and confidence of our youth – is for kids to know there's nothing lower than demeaning or humiliating others, especially the vulnerable. And we're all vulnerable; with discomforts, soft spots, things we hold dear, exploitable weaknesses. So my message to Michael and Cole was really just a bumper sticker: Mean People Suck.

"It was not easy, it was a war. I'm happy it went that way. I got to show my heart in there.... The whole lot of it brought out the best in me, it forced me to look at myself truly.... I'm just grateful.... You win or you learn, and this time I stayed with it and got the win.... I didn't make any excuses.... Since the last fight, he grew, so I knew I was up against it, and I was thinking in my head, maybe this could be a mistake but I said, 'Fuck it,' you train hard, be smart, learn from your mistakes, and go in confident." 
     –– Conor McGregor after his fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 202

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties." –– Erich Fromm

"There was a long time in Chicago when I kept thinking, 'Am I like one of those people on American Idol who doesn't know they're not good?'"  
     –– Cecily Strong, breakout star of Saturday Night Live, who persevered despite her innate anxiety and fears