013 – Advice
Real teaching advice from a friend and coworker. He caught on to my self esteem issues and I’ve tried to honor his request since then. He gave it to me like an order, but I’ve taken it on as friendly advice.
Of course, the post script is also true. He never said “Love yourself.” Probably would have seen that as a weak and unseemly thing to say. But it’s implied in the first part.
Maybe it isn’t. His intention was probably more about showing a strong front and building up from there, but I still take the unintended message to heart.