All the feelings of worthlessness and hurt from high school and middle school came pouring back.

This blog is hitting home hard for me. I was a pretty weird looking kid, so when I got to 7th grade and boys actually liked me, I ran with it. I had maybe 3 “boyfriends” in middle school and 4 guys I dated seriously in high school, one of whom I dated for years and am now happily married to. I didn’t sleep with them or act wild. However, that stigma of being “boy crazy” followed me. My friends made hurtful jokes, even though they all had crushes and boyfriends just like I did. It killed my self esteem for a long time, but it’s something I worked through. Recently at a birthday party for a high school friend’s 4 year old, one of the little girls wanted to see the birthday boy’s room and grabbed his hand to lead him up the stairs. The little girl’s mom made a joke about her daughter moving too fast, because they are 4 and completely innocent, and my high school friend’s mom said (in front of everyone) “sounds like a **my maiden name** kind of thing to do”. And laughed. I’m 30 and have been married for 5 years and I could not have been more mortified. All the feelings of worthlessness and hurt from high school and middle school came pouring back. I wish more people realized these words and jokes stick around and can do a lot of damage.