Blind Spots and Breakthroughs: Embracing Rule #2
It’s fair to say that at some point, we’ve all been victims. I think it’s also fair to say that we’ve all felt like a victim—whether a victim of circumstance, the patriarchy, the system, or someone else’s actions.
When I first revisited this rule, my knee-jerk reaction was to internalize it and start hastily crafting my defenses. I heard myself say, “Well, Daniel, you’re not a victim. You don’t make yourself a victim. You’re a survivor, a fighter, and resilient. You’re all these things you’ve said about yourself and heard others say about you.”
But instead of leaning into that deceptive comfort, I did what the teacher in me would advise my scholars to do:
Grab the dictionary and define the word.
Read it a few times to fully understand it.
Process it with clarity and intention.
If I Could Speak to My Younger Self
Dear Daniel,
I’m writing to you as you stand at the airport at the age of five, trying to understand what’s happening around you. You’re watching someone else leave, someone you love, someone who promised not to leave, and you’re wondering—‘Why do people always leave? What’s wrong with me?’ You don’t realize it yet, but that curious mind of yours is already leaping to places it doesn’t need to go, trying to piece together a world that feels broken.
Twenty-three years later, I’m here to tell you this: You’ll be okay. You’ll endure, you’ll thrive, and you’ll find a strength you didn’t know you had