![brene brown into the wilderness brene brown into the wilderness](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/79/84/69/79846935f1f3ebb76871ff81bac3db10.jpg)
Now I'm older and I see my own children going through their own struggles with bullies and their struggles to fit in and my wife and I are there to support them to be the foundational bedrock they can know is stable.īut I remember the hurt I felt as a kid, not being able to fit in, and how much that affected me. When a kid, I had child-like problems: I didn't want people to make fun of me for how I looked and what I did or did not have. I truly never thought my future would be this way.
![brene brown into the wilderness brene brown into the wilderness](https://walkthewilderness.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/Black-capped-Kingfisher.jpg)
No matter if it's the schism in America's political system and how it played out in the 2016 election, the racial divide that's tearing cities apart or the horrible tragedy of Las Vegas where so many people lost their lives-there's a lot of anger and fear everywhere I look.
![brene brown into the wilderness brene brown into the wilderness](http://wanderingmist.com/wp-content/uploads/greenery-pantone_7-290x200.jpg)
Loneliness, fear, anger and a breakdown in the fabric of society is occurring across all levels. One group hates the other, no one is talking, we're all shouting, and the situation is getting worse. Right now (it seems all over the world) groups are breaking off into their own little echo chamber. And her book also made me come to terms with the past and my present. Reading her story of growing up, reminded me of my own rough times. Recently, I picked up Brené Brown's new book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, and it resonated with me like I had met a lost soulmate. I eventually did find some friends to hang out with, but overall I was the nerdy kid in school and not very popular. That change, my physical makeup and being on the poorer side made growing up hard.
![brene brown into the wilderness brene brown into the wilderness](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8d/77/1b/8d771bc15cfd9aa65c2bd0090434718e.jpg)
From kindergarten to 8th grade, I attended 4 different schools. I found it hard to fit in because my family and I moved around a lot in the course of my elementary school years. No wonder I retreated to books and writing up my own stories. I wanted to have friends like everyone else and to learn in school. I had a family life that was chaotic due to a really messy divorce and my father's abuse, and all I wanted was to fit in and belong. Add on top of that my Pectus excavatum chest, and let's just say that I was picked on a lot. I'm 46 now and still remember kids picking on me for my shoes. Because of how tight money was for my mom, she, my brother and I had moved in with her parents and instead of me getting brand new sneakers like all my classmates had, well, I had used sneakers bought at a flea market that were gold.Īs you can imagine, all the kids made fun of me. I remember changing into my gym clothes and then putting on my sneakers. Add on top of my sunken condition that my mom had recently divorced and was poor-that created another challenge for me. So changing in gym class was really difficult for me because I didn't want anyone to make fun of me. No surgery or corrective means were necessary for the condition. The medical terminology for the condition is Pectus excavatum and it's more common than people might think-1 in 1,000 births.īut for me, I was born this way and never had any physical health issues related to my chest sinking inward instead of out. I was a skinny kid, tall like a reed, and born with what my Uncle used to joke a "sunken treasure chest." I used to change for gym and be so embarrassed because my chest looked sunken in rather than a chest like Tarzan with big pecs. I remember being in 5th grade and going to gym class, dreading it.