not in my place/out of place

I've been getting a lot of advice about my life lately. I can't say I don't need it, but some of it gets annoying. Today, I found a book at work called "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office," and I was laughing about it to my co-worker. One of the tips said it was a mistake to work too hard, and that it was good to waste a little time at work. I was laughing about how ridiculous that was, until my co-worker said the book was right, and her explanation as to why it was right made (almost) perfect sense. I decided I may as well read the book. I may work at a library, and I may enjoy writing, but I'm not a book snob. There are no "bad" or "dumb" books... they all have a purpose for someone. (Except, okay, this really weird book I found online once... it was about some poor kid who got molested and grew up and thought he was gay and then someone told him he wasn't really gay, he was just upset about getting molested, and then he was like "Okay!" Although I may be mixing up a couple of different books here... if someone can find a link to this book for me, please let me know!!)

But moving on. So I started reading the book on my dinner break, and aside from the whole wasting time thing (which might take me a little while to get used to), I found something else. Although it certainly wasn't the first time I'd heard of this concept, it was the first time I took it to heart. It was the idea that when people put you down unnecessarily or say certain things that show their disapproval, they are trying to "put you in your place." Notice I said unnecessarily... if I were, say, assaulting my customers by flinging books at them, I would hope that someone would put me in my place. But I'm not like that. For years, I've let people put me in my place. I can't even tell you how many friends I've had that were constantly trying to put me in my place... telling me I wasn't allowed to feel a certain way, immediately telling me I was wrong without even listening what I had to say, sometimes even telling me point-blank that I wasn't allowed to say anything about certain situations. I've been very depressed for many years over this issue, and that needs to end. I think this blog is a step in the right direction. From now on, the only one who will be allowed to put me in my place is me!