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Using the Pencil Sharpener

In 3rd grade I was kind of a gawky looking kid. No, let me rephrase that. I was fairly hideously ugly. Taller than most of the boys in my class and skinny with freckles, I also wore glasses that were as thick as old time Coke bottles which were in fashion back then. My glasses were not...

What made my situation even worse was that the only way you could sharpen your pencil was to trudge up to the pencil sharpener which was up near the blackboard at the front of the classroom. Every time I went up to use the damned thing I felt as though every pair of eyes in my class was boring into my back. I knew, absolutely knew, that every single kid was watching me, thinking I was ugly with a stupid name.

It was only years later that I realized we all have these feelings. That most of us don't want to call attention to ourselves, that most of us are indeed self-conscious, and that most of us are insecure enough to feel as though everyone is watching us, It's normal. It's natural, and for the most part...

The feelings we have about the pencil sharpener are not true because...

No one really gives a shit about what we're doing.

That's cold, but it's the truth. Most people are so caught up in their own lives that they're not going to be following yours. You can use the pencil sharpener with immunity.

Now isn't that a relief?
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