Echoing in My Empty Brain

"We aren't like other families. We're so much better than they are because we don't drink, or cuss, or smoke cigarettes, and we go to church most Sundays."

"You'll never get a man to love you if you're too fat."

"You'll never get a man to marry you if you won't change your last name when you do."

"You're too idealistic. You can't change anything so don't waste your time trying."

"The only way you'll ever succeed in life is to learn to keep your mouth shut."

"Mind your own business." (said when I witnessed a man abusing a woman, both of whom I didn't know, in the alley by our house)

"You have to learn to mind your own business and not make waves." (said after I called police to report the abuse)

"You have to be less selfish. No man will ever want you if you want to have things your way."

Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad. Great advice. Some absorbed more deeply than others, but they all left their mark.