There’s no winning arguments with your parents, so why get all pumped up over them? It is way better to dive down and get out of the way than it is to get clobbered by some parental tidal wave.

Was it so much to ask just to be left alone?

So there I was, with the two hottest girls on campus, having lunch. I was "the man", the envy of every other guy in our school. Buddy, I was miserable." -Bryce Loski

Julie always tried to stand beside me, or talk to me, or in some other way mortify me.

As much as thinking this upsets me, I'm starting to see that I need the merry-go-round much more than it needs me, and in the end my choice is to hop back on or get left in the dust.

...Next time you're faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run.

It was beyond embarrassing or humiliating or even mortifying. It was ego-slaying!