Sometimes, you just need to rip the band aid off...

I was going to use the analogy, about taking your armbands off if you want to swim with sharks, but since I can't swim I thought the point somewhat redundant. However, the point is still moot. There are periods in life when you must make a decision and stand up and move out of your comfort zone to grow as a person. I have never been comfortable speaking before crowds, no matter how large. This is largely due to the treatment at the hands of others whilst I attended school. It is behaviour like this that my new book School for Apes is about...bullying. Everyone has had experience of a bully. It might have been themselves, a friend, a child, a niece or nephew or perhaps they were once the bully. The things with bullying, it isn't just the physical scars that have an impact, it's the mental trauma which follows a person throughout their adult life. Lack of confidence, no self-respect, no self-worth these all follow through life like a bad odour hanging around. It's how you deal with those bullies that defines you as a person. You can sit back and wallow in self-pity or rise above the hate and show your persecutors you are better than they are. This brings me back to my original point. Even after all of these years, I get nervous at the thought of certain things, but sometimes it is better to face your fears than hide away in the darkness forever...