"Know thy self, know thy enemy" ~ Sun Tzu

As I mentioned in a previous post, in order to help combat bullying aimed at my daughter, we are having some "girl time". With Halloween coming up, we did something actually "girlie" we painted our nails. I haven't painted my nails since before Kate was born, so it's been a while, but I realized that she may want to be the kind of girl who does that, so what the heck.

During our mani time, I dropped the words "geek" and "nerd" in some context regarding myself and her response surprised me. Kate said, "I don't like to use those words." So I dug deeper and asked her why.

"People use those words around me and they sound like insults," she replied. "But I don't know what they mean."

I saw the opportunity and took it. "Geeks and nerds are people who tend to like technology, science and math."

She jumped up in her chair and stated, "Well I like those things! I guess I am a geek and a nerd."

"Words are just words, Kate. No one can insult you if you own who you are and how you view yourself. There is nothing wrong with loving math and science and gaming and books. You can be whatever you like. Own what you are sweetheart, and no one can take that away from you."

We had a great time and now she has ladybugs on her fingernails.

Own who you are, don't let anyone else make it ugly or unbecoming. You are the best person you can be. Have a great week and enjoy Maximized Empowerment.