In a YouTube upload, user DoeEyes speaks to the “Dear Boy Who Likes My Daughter” about how to handle rejection gracefully, and it’s a lesson all kids can learn from.
So many props to DoeEyes for simply explaining the concept of consent in this video and how, if a girl (or a boy) tells you “no,” that it’s not cool to keep harassing them in the hallways, on the bus or via poetry. I also love how she then gives the kid ideas for things he can do with all the feelings we know so many teenagers have, especially after being confronted with rejection: “journal your thoughts, talk to a [grown-up], think about ways you can show respect to others, and practice them.” Young teenagers do need to learn the concept of rejection and that it’s OK if someone tells them “no” and how to bounce back from it. Like DoeEyes says in the video, boys are taught to “try harder, to go at it, to do whatever you can to get it,” which should apply to grades or sports accomplishments or hobbies they are passionate about, not to a romantic conquest. Here’s hoping the unseen and unnamed boy in the video finds someone who can reciprocate his affections and that he learns hearing “no” is not the end of the world.
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