Clark Fredericks

It just grows into a monster.

My father found rolling papers, a pipe, and weed in my room.

And Lisa's corrected me on how I phrased this.

See, I'm thinking, right?

Because I always said my father missed a golden opportunity to open up a dialogue with me.

Instead, he took the hardline approach of threatening to send me to military school if he ever found this on me again.

And I tell people, you've got to open up dialogue with your kids.

No matter what they're doing, they're getting in trouble, they're using drugs, there's a reason why.

It doesn't necessarily have to be they were raped by their Boy Scout leader, but it can be maybe bullying at school or just...

not feeling comfortable in their body as it changes at puberty, whatever it may be, you know, just open up dialogue.

My father tried to open up dialogue, which Lisa reminded me of, and I refused to talk about it.

So like,

That's why I speak out, just to get people to talk.

You can't heal from something you can't talk about.

How can you heal if you can't address it?

Right.

And my mother worked at the new high school.

And like, so I'm going in there with a smile cranked on,

All my teachers, because she works there, love me.

Classmates love me.