When I was 8 or 9 we lived in Zephyrhills, Florida for awhile. We actually lived there a few times, I don’t remember what installment this was from, my sister might. That’s not the point though. We were living at a dropzone called Skydive Phoenix, named so because it had burned down and was rebuilt from the ashes some years before (if you’re new to all this, my mom and step-dad skydive, check out some previous posts). I remember it was the height of the season because there were a LOT of kids. There were different kinds of dropzone kids, those that lived there and those that came out w/ their parents on the weekend - we were the kind that lived there. We knew all the ropes - knew the people, knew who would buy us lemonade, knew who would help us with our homework and knew who didn’t like kids.

I remember one particular weekend a young French girl was there. The other kids didn’t like her, I think because she didn’t speak very good English and it was hard to translate and play with her. They were being mean, not letting her play and getting frustrated. I wasn’t being particularly friendly either, and one of the adults pulled me aside. They said they weren’t sure about the other kids, but they knew me and I knew better than that. I needed to play nice. I remember feeling embarrassed, I didn’t get scolded very often. What was I *thinking* getting caught up in what the other kids were doing. I don’t remember apologizing to her, but I hope I did.

The power of crowds was a big realization for me, and one my mind goes back to (clearly). I like to think as an adult I’ve learned my lesson, but it’s still a conscious effort. I’ll find myself not raising my hand when I know the answer, or getting gossipy at work when I know it could hurt people. It’s much harder to be a strong individual when you’re riding the wave of what everyone else is doing.

I don’t have any big moral lesson here, we all know the RIGHT thing to do. I guess it just struck me how EARLY I learned that lesson and how I’m reminded of it, even now. My mom was worried I was holding on to a bunch of guilt, but it’s more of a ‘don’t forget.’

There’s safety in numbers, but it takes more strength to be just ONE.