“Be Real!

Color outside the lines.”

This quote is on my favorite t-shirt, one I purchased at the Crayola store on my one and only visit to the legendary Mall of America. Such a simple quote, but to me, it is all about teaching middle schoolers. Middle school kids live outside the line all the time, never quite fitting the mold of what their parents and teachers think they ought to be.

Middle school age kids are trying on their personalities, trying to figure out who they want to be. They want to fit in, desperately; at the same time, they want to be themselves, express their own personalities and make their own mark on the world.

It is a narrow path they walk and one which we, the adults in their lives, need to cultivate with care and patience. It is our obligation to help them discover their true indentities, their individual colors, and encourage them to indeed, COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES!"