May 21, 2013

(I had so much time in my classroom today. The work for the year is mostly done, so I feel ok about finding all this stuff on the internet.)

Knocked Up - Bubbles

I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles.

A Letter to a 14 Year Old With a Broken Heart
Dear 14-Year-Old,
Right now you are hovering outside my door. You want to talk to me about this, but you hate that you have to come to me. You understand that this is too big a hurt to deal with on your own and I understand that there is nothing I can say to make this hurt go away. You will want me to make the pain stop. You want this to be something I can fix for you. This ache, however, is not dinner. It’s not a new pair of shoes or travel arrangements or homework. I cannot “fix” this, and my inability to do so will help confirm what you’ve been suspecting for a while now. Parents are not Gods. We are just normal people, men and women, doing the best we can. Understanding this will make you feel both relieved and terrified. On top of everything else you are feeling, it will also annoy the hell out of you.
I failed you in a way. I never really talked to you about romantic love. I thought it was up to me to provide the love you needed in your life. I tell you that I love you. I try to show you, too, but we exasperate each other often. The love you feel for this boy has crept up on us both. I have watched you maturing – you aren’t a little kid anymore. You wear a bra, I get that. I’ve been worried about sex and birth control, but love, falling in love, being selfless, taking on someone else’s emotional needs… it never occurred to me that you were there. I keep wondering if I could have prepared you more. I think I avoided the topic because I figured you would take my ramblings as nostalgic, old person talk. Maybe I thought I would just embarrass you. More than likely I probably assumed that you, this person who will have a temper tantrum over not being able to use the computer and then turn around and ask me for a ride to the mall five minutes later, is not a person who could experience a love that extends beyond their own love of self. I was wrong on that front. I projected our own complicated relationship onto your present situation and miscalculated badly.

Why It's More Than OK To Go It Alone
I love going out by myself. I make friends with strangers. I learn to trust my instincts. I have learned my limits with no one to rely upon but myself. I hope that you, dear readers, know that it is okay to go out by yourself. Obviously, learn your limits, go safe places, and befriend the locals, but there is no shame in sitting at the bar of a favorite restaurant and having dinner alone.
Anyone who judges you sucks.
You’re awesome. Own it. Eat what you want. Eat where you want. Bring a book if you want. Bring your cell phone. Learn to love spending time with yourself.
I’m betting you are not half bad as a conversationalist.

Why You Should Scrap That Ladder-Climbing Plan And Go Backpacking Around The World, Instead
If I had followed Dr. Jay's advice, I'd still be at my first job out of college. Although it was a burgeoning startup with a lot of room for growth, after 18 months of grinding, I knew intuitively that it was my time to go.
Instead, I spent three years living in six cities around the world, working on projects that challenged and enthralled me, in sectors ranging from publishing to technology to social impact to lifestyle design. I experimented with different ways of living, working, eating, sleeping, and playing to figure out what way of being resonated most with me. This ultimately led me to create Bold Academy, a life accelerator designed to give you the clarity, courage, and community to lead the life you’ve always wanted to live. In forging this path, I've fallen deeply in love, and sans Dr. Jay's advice, we moved in together after two months. (Sometimes you do just know.)

Lego Casino Royale

What Can We Build With All The Lego Blocks In The World?

Rick Reilly Before He Was Rick Reilly®

Once upon a time, before he was a walking Father's Day card, before his writing became a neverending telethon for the blind and the deaf, the palsied and the pinkieless, the one-armed and the no-legged, Rick Reilly was really good.

Reilly has gone in for a lot of abuse hereabouts, all of it richly deserved. But there was a time, long ago, when he was the sportswriter's sportswriter, a guy who some days was the best thing in the business. And on the days he wasn't the best, he was, to crib a line, at least in the photo.

Books to Read In Your 20's
Because you'll never have enough time to read them later.

Power REMIX -Kanye, Jay-Z, Swizz Beats