Hi Brenda, Thanks for the pep talk, but trust me I'm a cocky tenacious young lady and have never been shy about speaking my mind, even as a VERY small child. VERY often I'm on the side of not knowing when to shut up .. something I'm working on. I don't eat out with my co-workers not because I'm afraid of ridicule but because I don't like to eat food I haven't prepared myself. I don't trust restaurants to be as picky about their ingredients as I am. Sorry my paragraph you quoted gave the wrong impression of me. :) Luv, Debby San Jose, CA --- Brenda Young <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > OK, you young'un's, LOL, listen up. :) As I said > in my previous post, some of this comes with age, > but believe me when I tell you that if you stick to > your guns and go about living your life as you > believe you should, people will eventually come to > respect you for that. For some people it may take > years, yes, but I've had people begrudgingly > compliment me for doing what I believe in. Go and > eat out with these people, talk about your "weird" > beliefs (but also know when enough is enough and > when to shut up:). Be proud of what you know and > are. The reason these people make fun of us is > because they are insecure about THEIR beliefs, and > because we aren't, it threatens them in some subtle > way. This is not a cliche, it's the truth. If they > knew exactly what they believed for themselves, they > would feel no need to pick on someone else. Again, > be proud that you guys know more at your age than > most people do at twice MY age, lol. > > Rootin' for ya, > Bren > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Photos – Showcase holiday pictures in > hardcover > Photo Books. You design it and we’ll bind it! > Website for my son Hunter Hudson, born 10/11/04: http://debbypadilla.0catch.com/hunter/