Tired of Hiding Behind "Comfortable"...

Highly Awesome. What does this mean to you? I can't answer that for you, but I can tell you what it means to me. So here we go...

There has been some controversy over why I call the parents and children I work with "Highly Awesome". Today I am going to address that. What I have heard from a few parents is that, "Every parent feels their child is awesome", and I absolutely respect that. EVERY child is awesome in their very own way... and here is why the kids I work with are different. (Note: DIFFERENT, not better, not worse, not the same, but different).

The children that I work with are called all sorts of things, most of which is not positive. They hear the word "Different" and it makes them cringe. They are called weird, strange, different, odd, ADD, ADHD, (and a host of other diagnoses), over sensitive, a problem child, someone who had behavior issues, and so on.

When the heck did it become a negative thing to give these kids a positive vision of themselves to realize that they are honored and appreciated, seen and accepted, understood and inspirational? 

In my opinion, it has been too long that we have been seeing these children as their outward expressions of being misunderstood and under-supported in this society. It is time we embrace them, and my calling them Highly Awesome is an extension of that. This is how I see them. And I believe their parents deserve to hear someone calling their child Highly Awesome as well.

All too often, the parents are hearing all the troubles their child is having at school, in daycare, with friends, and they hear it from doctors (who they go to for support), teachers (who they trust their children with each day), and other parents (who are meant to be a supportive tribe of togetherness). 

No, I am not saying that every doctor, parent and teacher is telling them there is something "wrong" with their child, but a number of people are focusing on these children's faults and downfalls rather than seeing their gifts THROUGH the behaviors displayed when misunderstood. This perpetuates misunderstanding.

So there you have it. I will continue calling these children and their parents Highly Awesome. This is what I am passionate about. They deserve it. They are here to claim it. And the longer we deny them of that by not wanting them to have a special title because it might offend others, the longer we hold them back from reaching their true potential in this world. 

Maybe it's just me, but that's a waste of the gifts these children come with to change, and potentially save, the world.

In gratitude,
Erin Stephanie
Fearless Leader for the Highly Awesome