Lean Cuisine's #WeighThis campaign

I am writing this for my daughter.

I have a wonderful daughter who is spunky, is independent, loves all things outdoors, and is all around proud to be a tomboy kind of girl. But I've noticed a change in her in the last two years. As she grows older, she talks about weights, about fatty foods, about being skinny vs. being fat, etc., and I don't know where she's getting this message. And she doesn't have a weight problem.

We've never owned a scale. We eat until we're full. Dessert is her favorite part of a meal. But it takes her a long time to finish dinner. It's always been this way, so it's not something new. But, I was still concerned about it enough to keep my eyes peeled for some positive messages, and I came across this one. And it sends a GREAT message.

Women come into a stark room with a scale prominently standing in the middle of the room. They are asked - what do you weigh? The confronting question makes some of the timid, hesitant, anxious, etc. Then they are asked of their greatest accomplishment. They talk about making the deans list, going back to college at 55, having a happy marriage, raising kids, etc. After that, they are asked to weigh what matters to them. Some weigh wedding rings. Some weigh dean's list certificate. Some weigh weights. Some weigh their children. At the end of the day, their weight has nothing to do with who they are, and the weight of what matters to them has everything to do with what they've accomplished in life.

My daughter and I watched it and talked about what was important in the commercial. And I also made my son watch it, too.

Here's the Youtube link to this awesome commercial - What do you Weigh?

The commercial ends with a powerful statement. 

If you're going to weigh something, weigh what matters.

Self Identity

This mess with Rachel Dolezal makes me think of a young man I knew a long time ago. 

Let's call him David.

He was a Caucasian male with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, but in his heart, he was Korean through and through. He was far more Korean than I ever was even when I lived in Korea (maybe because I was only ten years old at the time).

I met him in the early 90's, and after graduating from college, he decided to do his graduate work at Yonsei University in Korea. It's considered one of the Ivy League universities of Korea. When he arrived at Yonsei University, he did complain about how blood was so thick in Korea, how it was almost impossible for a "foreigner" to become fully accepted, etc. But he didn't just complain. He joined clubs, really put himself out there to make friends, and got involved in on-campus athletics the only way possible for him (he wasn't at all athletic) - as the school mascot.

Initially, it was a big deal for him to take off his mask and reveal his face to the surprised and delighted audience members. But after awhile, no one was surprised to see his face; in fact, the audience was surprised when someone else stood in for him.

I've lost touch with David over the years. I don't know what he's doing, but I know where he is living - in South Korea somewhere. There was a connection, he said, and it was far deeper than anything he felt for his birthplace, Montclair, CA.

It is completely OK for Rachel Dolezal to identify herself with one group of people, but it was utterly wrong for her to pretend that she was from that group when she wasn't. She lied to the people closest to her. The very people who trusted and believed her, she betrayed. And she betrayed their trust every single day she kept quiet. 

The betrayal of trust. That is the difference.