My daughter had to vote for her “favorite groovy expression” from the list below. She read through choices. We explained what each expression meant.
Then she refused to pick. She didn’t like any of them. “I just like to dance. I don’t like any of this.”
“Yes,” Elysha said. “But of the choices here, can you just tell me which one you like the best?”
Clara took the marker, scanned the page once more, thought for a long moment, and finally wrote the word “No” above each list.
It was the strangest thing. Like looking in a mirror. So many times in my life, I have been asked to complete a form, fill out a worksheet, or vote on something like this, and so many times, I abstained. Attempted to make a mockery of the process. Tried to inject myself unnecessarily into the request. Rejected the attempt to put me in a box. Pushed back on bureaucracy. Refused.
I can’t describe the joy in discovering that I am no longer alone in my petulant nonconformity.
