Thank you for helping lift the veil a bit higher to expose the pain that people hold onto for decades because of bullying. Toxic masculinity is now more understood. Personality disorders are being recognized more often. Tragic family experiences are no longer completely locked in vaults that rust into their hearts. So much has moved the needle on this subject. So glad you Harvard HS alumni had this moment to validate each other’s stories and heal. Here’s to all the boys who cry and all those who reach out to them with compassion and promote empowerment rather than harboring pain.
I think you should speak publicly about this especially at HW to encourage acceptance and connection rather than the alternative.
Well done and said Bryan. So interesting as to how our high school experiences are defined.
It seems to me that a high-schooler with even just one or two really good friends, and one or two “interests”/distractions that are affiliated with the high school, may be well-equipped to survive all of the inevitable struggles of the time. For me it was a girlfriend and being part of a really great Taft HS basketball program. And believe me, surviving the horrendous stuff going on at home was a minor miracle. Those 2 “things” probably saved my life.
Beautifully written and recalled. A wise older NY lit agent ex-colleague with a faux-Southern accent once said something brilliant to me: “hurt people hurt people.” In her southern lilt it sounded gentle and almost benign, but those are four powerful words I remember every day, when I confront mean people in the present and try to make peace with the bullies of my past.
Glad you posted this on Twitter. Very timely for me as I've been pondering my HS years recently. I recently set up a Zoom call for my graduating class, hoping to make some new connections and revisit old ones. There was no one I had unfinished business with. After the call, I checked in to see how I felt. Disappointingly, I still felt invisible.
Thank you for helping lift the veil a bit higher to expose the pain that people hold onto for decades because of bullying. Toxic masculinity is now more understood. Personality disorders are being recognized more often. Tragic family experiences are no longer completely locked in vaults that rust into their hearts. So much has moved the needle on this subject. So glad you Harvard HS alumni had this moment to validate each other’s stories and heal. Here’s to all the boys who cry and all those who reach out to them with compassion and promote empowerment rather than harboring pain.
I think you should speak publicly about this especially at HW to encourage acceptance and connection rather than the alternative.
Well done and said Bryan. So interesting as to how our high school experiences are defined.
It seems to me that a high-schooler with even just one or two really good friends, and one or two “interests”/distractions that are affiliated with the high school, may be well-equipped to survive all of the inevitable struggles of the time. For me it was a girlfriend and being part of a really great Taft HS basketball program. And believe me, surviving the horrendous stuff going on at home was a minor miracle. Those 2 “things” probably saved my life.
Beautifully written and recalled. A wise older NY lit agent ex-colleague with a faux-Southern accent once said something brilliant to me: “hurt people hurt people.” In her southern lilt it sounded gentle and almost benign, but those are four powerful words I remember every day, when I confront mean people in the present and try to make peace with the bullies of my past.
Glad you posted this on Twitter. Very timely for me as I've been pondering my HS years recently. I recently set up a Zoom call for my graduating class, hoping to make some new connections and revisit old ones. There was no one I had unfinished business with. After the call, I checked in to see how I felt. Disappointingly, I still felt invisible.