In college, I finally learned how to stand up for myself.īut now I’m in charge of raising three girls. I want to go back in time to that shy girl, grab myself by the shoulders, and shake her until her hibernating confidence wakes like a cranky bear. Or the boy in ninth grade who told me: “Your nose is too big for your face.” Or my crush in sixth grade who told me I was “flat.” After I read “The End,” a boy laughed and said “She just stole that from The Goonies.” (Which was true, but still.) When it was my turn to read the story out loud in class, my voice squeaked and the paper shook in my hands. Like in fifth grade when I was supposed to write a story that was two pages long but instead I wrote 20, and I was so proud of myself. I just let other kids say mean things to me. The truth is: I never stood up for myself as a kid.
Why didn’t I turn around and tell them to shut up? Why did I run? Why didn’t I at least laugh it off? Just kids being mean, and not really a big deal.Īs an adult, I’ve relived that afternoon more than it deserves. That I was ugly as a dog? That’s my best guess. I’m still not 100 percent sure what they meant by barking. Nobody who would come looking for me if I wasn’t home at the right time. As a latchkey kid, I knew there was no adult at home waiting for me. The others laughed, then they barked too.Ī 10-year-old girl hurrying down the sidewalk, her ponytail swinging side to side, and a group of four or five boys following behind her, barking.īut for some reason, I got a bad vibe off those boys on that day. Still, adrenaline surged through my heart. “Ow!” one yelled while another laughed, but I didn’t turn back to see what happened. That day, they must have been in a hurry to get home. Usually they sat at the back of the bus and took their time getting off, so I was long gone by the time they hit the pavement. Started towards the apartment in silence.Įxcept that a group of sixth-grade boys got off the bus right behind me. This day was like every other day, mostly. And if I hurried, I might catch The Addams Family. But I didn’t mind because I could get lost in my thoughts. No one to walk home with, chattering about the day. The school bus had just dropped me off, along with all the other kids who lived in the cluster of apartment complexes near mine.Īs a painfully shy kid, I hadn’t made any friends who lived nearby. Bonus: All these songs for girls are from *this* century. Inside: Play these girl power songs to inspire your daughter to be confident, strong, and brave.