In 1999, Walz was a teacher and founded his high school’s first gay-straight alliance. His old GSA students still remember him warmly.
Minnesota Gov. and Vice President hopeful Tim Walz (D) inspired generations of students during his time as a founder of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at the Mankato West High School in Minnesota. Now, some of his former GSA students are coming back to discuss all the ways in which Walz, as well as his wife Gwen, helped them personally.
I always liked the bit from Robin Williams in the movie “Dead Again”.
“Decide who you are and then be that.”
In that case, he was talking to a smoker driving themselves crazy trying to quit smoking. You either are, or you aren’t. Decide who you are and then be that.
That sounds a lot like advice I read in some book (maybe Atomic Habits?). What I remember of the point was that your habits will follow your identity. If you’re a “former smoker,” you’re a small step away from becoming a smoker again. If you’re “not a smoker,” you have to consciously defy your identity to pick up cigarettes again, and it is hard for people to change their foundational perceptions of their identity.
I thought it an interesting premise. It seems in some ways opposite to the guidance of Alcoholics Anonymous, which as I understand it is that everyone there identifies as an alcoholic, no matter how long it’s been since they imbibed. That’s supposed to keep them conscious of the choice to not drink (though it might also be intentional to drive the community mindset and participation that’s also foundational to AA…)