We are celebrating National Kindness Week at our school. Today’s theme is “Tied Together by Kindness”. Students and staff are asked to wear a tie to show how we are all connected.

Realizing that many people wouldn’t have ties, I cleaned out my closet last night and brought in a bag full.

The bag is now empty, and the halls are full of people with my ties on.

What is hilarious about this is how this links to my past. In high school, I was labeled a nerd. In the 1980’s being a nerd was like having a target on your back.

Other kids felt no hesitance in picking on me verbally and physically. There were not anti-bullying programs at the time, and the kids were often vicious to those that they thought less of.

My friends and I decided that if we were going to get picked on, then at least we should have some fun. One of the things we did is wear ties with t-shirts, or on our heads, or wear multiple ties at once. It turns out when you’re already labeled as a weird kid, people aren’t shocked when you do weird things. We didn’t get picked on more, and we had a lot more fun and felt some sense of power.

So after all these years, it is fulfilling to see my kids wearing my tie on their heads, and just having a good time, without paying a price for individuality and self-expression.