THE BIGGEST MOB HIT IN YEARS

fashion
by Raina Tallent, Fashion Editor of The Boardwalk Journal
Gilbert: I just wanted to say that I’m a nerd, and I’m here tonight to stand up
for the rights of other nerds. I mean uh, all our lives we’ve been laughed at
and made to feel inferior. And tonight, those bastards, they trashed our house.
Why? Cause we’re smart? Cause we look different? Well, we’re not. I’m a nerd,
and uh, I’m pretty proud of it.
Lewis: Hi, Gilbert. I’m a nerd too. I just found that out tonight. We have news
for the beautiful people. There’s a lot more of us than there are of you. I know
there’s alumni here tonight. When you went to Adams you might’ve been
called a spazz, or a dork, or a geek. Any of you that have ever felt stepped
on, left out, picked on, put down, whether you think you’re a nerd or not, why
don’t you just come down here and join us. Okay? Come on.
Gilbert: Just join us cos uh, no-one’s gonna really be free until nerd
persecution ends.—Revenge of the Nerds 1984
Hi, my name is Raina and I’m a nerd. I have and always will march to the
beat of a different drummer, and I’m proud of it. Growing up, I wore big
thick glasses, had a mouth full of metal, and was chubby. I was kicked off
the softball team for “throwing like a girl” and for making my jersey into a
crop top. I was told that I’d never be a ballerina because my hips were too
wide and my boobs were too
big. Tap dancing was an epic
failure, and the instructor said
that I’d never be a Rockette.
I remember like yesterday,
asking the popular girls if I
could do the lip sync contest
with them, and their response
to me was, “The song is Simply
Irresistible. Not Simply Ugly!”
I remember the pit I had in my
stomach from holding back
the tears. I was so young, but even then I wouldn’t let those girls see how
much they hurt me. The best part of this story is that I recently ran into one
of those so called popular girls, and she was single, severely overweight, and
missing teeth. Karma at its finest. I never went to prom, but I did graduate top
5 of my class. So what if there were only 5 kids in my grade!
So here I am a mother of three and the only thing worse than being picked
on is having to see your child go through the same thing you did. I will do
anything to protect my kids from any type of harm. So my question: What
do you do when your son is being bullied right in front of your face? Makes
you wonder how mean kids must be when you’re not around. Do I care if
my kids are popular? No. Do I care that my kids are the best athletes? No.
I’m certainly not the parent that vicariously tries to live my life through
my children. I simply want my sons to be able to go to school each day not
worried if they have to sit alone at the lunch table, or whether they’ll be
picked last for a team, or whether they’ll be made fun of. I want my boys to
enjoy their childhood. I’m aware that kids are kids and they aren’t always nice,
but that’s not how I raise my boys. Being mean is not ok. Real friends don’t
Bully Proof
Raina Tallent graduated from
the University of Miami in 2001
and returned to Margate where
she currently resides with her
husband Mike, her three sons
and five dogs. Although she
graduated with an education
degree, she had more interest
in fashion and decided to open
treat each other like that and it is important for kids to learn that at an early
age.
I’ve confronted the parents of children on numerous occasions and they turn
around and say, “I can’t force my child to be friends with your son”. That’s
not what I’m asking. All I ask is for your child to not humiliate my son. To
have compassion and humility. I’m frustrated and I can’t fight my children’s
fights. I’m so scared that my son will believe that he’s a “loser” because of the
way he’s treated. I can buy him cool clothes and sneakers and spike his hair
and try to boost his confidence—I look at him and all I see is this handsome
boy that brought so much love into my life. However, I can’t make kids be
his friend. I can’t buy him the confidence to stick up for himself. I remember
being in 4th grade and crying because I felt like I had no friends. My dad tried
cheering me up and he opened the newspaper to the classified section and
said” Ok, Raina, lets buy you some friends.” At the time I didn’t understand
the joke, but now I realize there was nothing he could do and it hurt him too.
It was his way of trying to help me. Now, I’m in the same position.
I’m not one of those fake people that make their lives out to be a fairy tale or
claim that I’m always happy. My morning started out by me sitting on a pee
covered toilet seat and ended
Simply Fly Boutique in 2009 to
bring some of her South Beach
fashion sense and unique taste
to the South Jersey area.
Simply Fly Boutique continues
to offer the latest fashion and
trends while providing a fun
and relaxing environment for
all of its customers.
with me falling asleep mashed
between one of the dogs and
my boys. I stub my toes, get
parking tickets, get pimples
right in between my eyebrows,
can’t fit into jeans, and have
nightmares. But nothing
is worse than seeing your
children unhappy. Even worse
is feeling helpless.
Bullying will never end. There will always be someone that feels like they
must belittle someone else to make themselves feel better about their own
insecurities. Instead of trying to target the bullies, we as parents must teach
our children to stand up for themselves. To instill in them the confidence to
believe in themselves. Remember the old rhyme, “Sticks and stones may
break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? If only this were true. Words
hurt and can stay with you forever. There is no way of taking them back.
Nowadays, with all this technology, it’s hard to control the bullying. You hear
of young teenagers killing themselves because of rumors and pictures posted
all over the internet. What kind of world are we living in?
So what does this all have to do with fashion?
Being mean makes you ugly...period!! In
addition, all this added stress is causing me to
find happiness in baked goods and chocolate.
You’ll be seeing me this summer plopped in
a beach chair, wearing a moo moo, with my
cankles in the ocean.
FAMiLy LAw
DIVORCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HEARINGS RESTRAINING ORDERS
CHILD CUSTODY / SUPPORT VISITATION SEPARATION AGREEMENTS
Attorneys At LAw
18 | The Boardwalk Journal | May 2013
Kenneth M. warren Jr., esq.
1200 AtLAntic Avenue
AtLAntic city, nJ 08401
(609) 345-5800
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