Not all the work is at work.

A post I made recently that stuck with me:

I went to a really good high school with incredible teachers. Blessed. But my thinking was influenced most in the cafeteria. I learned how to banter, how to argue, how to negotiate, how to reconcile, how groups interacted, what people were like under stress with limited sleep.

I learned that my world wasn’t the only world, that my opinions could be wrong, that even the most talented kids get haunted. I saw sadness, joy, celebration, rage, confusion, and the struggle to stand out and to belong all at the same time. I saw a legit war hero and a team of grandmothers make a difficult task seem routine. I saw my classmates. I saw my friends. I saw people when they didn’t have to be smart or athletic or stylish or tough. And then I saw people when they felt like they had to be all of those things.

Masculinity? Toxic? I’ve seen too many guys stand up for other people, have a good laugh and a good cry. People dealing with things I could never understand. And then, when the bell rings, putting on a brave face and going back at it. We had our biases and jokes. We were not as tolerant as we should have been. But experiencing other people daily burns off a lot of bullshit. A lot of crap is out there, but you learn that God doesn’t love him or her any more or any less than you. No matter what ignorant people tell you, or what your ideologies, worst temptations, and wounded impulses lead you to use to explain your shortcomings. No matter how society wants you to believe. Or vote. Or purchase. Or worship. In the cafeteria I learned that we’re all just people, and we’ve got each other. So we might as well enjoy our short time together before the bell rings.

Best,

Michael