A kick in the pants, plus ruminations on self-confidence

Miss Em has had two neat posts worth linking recently. The first, “notes from the brand you 50 from a few years ago” (okay, I am really unclear on what that title means), is kind of a rockstar anthem for following your dreams. I personally think it’s quite inspiring.

The second, “Prep“, is a more personal discussion of class difference, and how they manifested themselves in Miss Em’s private school experience. That’s the kind of post I truly enjoy reading–more people should write them!–and I found it quite thoughtful. While I haven’t had the experience of attending an expensive private school with millionaire children, I do know what it’s like to feel apart, separate, and to admire people for what they were rather than who they were. I think that in any social system, the people who feel like outsiders are the ones who lack the confidence of the people they think are cool–regardless of what other attributes those “cool” people might possess.

It happens that money can give a person a whole hell of a lot of confidence.