Pencil cases, hoodies, and Linkedin
You learn more from missing than hitting: A lesson from my marksmanship training long ago back in the Stratford Cadets They say "Don't judge a book on its cover", but unfortunately, we're not books. We are humans, constantly putting personality on everyone, regardless of whether the person labelled feels comfortable or hot. This ubiquitous penchant entraps both the "labeler" and the "labelled" in an endless ride of identity crises. I learned this lesson from three ordinary things: a pencil case, a hoodie, and Linkedin (yes, the job-searching website). 1. The pencil case I could not describe how relieved I was when I graduated from elementary school. Not because elementary school teachers were allowed to beat students in Vietnam back then - in fact, far from it. In short, I was "that kid", but only academically. Socializing was a nerve-wracking rollercoaster: few of my classmates bothered talking to this nerd about how the sky is blue. But...