embracing otherne.when i first heard this theme, i thought, well embracing otherne is embracing myself.and the journey to that i grew up on the coast of england in the 70s.my dad is white from cornwall, and my mom is black from zimbabwe.even the idea of us as a family was challenging to most people.but nature had its wicked way, and brown babies were born.but from about the age of five, i was aware that i didnt fit.i was the black atheist kid in the all-white catholic school run by nuns.i was an anomaly.and my self was rooting around for definition and trying to plug in.because the self likes to fit, to see itself replicated, to belong.that confirms its existence and its importance.and it is important.it has an extremely important function.without it, we literally cant interface with others.we cant hatch plans and climb that stairway of popularity, of succe.but my skin color wasnt right.my hair wasnt right.my history wasnt right.my self became defined by otherne, which meant that, in that social world, i didnt really exist.and i was other before being anything else -first-grade, not much artistic talent...yet.and i m balling, im crying, like a little kid.and it made all the sense in the world to me.i realized at that point by connecting those two dots, that the only thing that matters in my life is being a great dad.above all, above all, the only goal i have in life is to be a good dad. 一个月后，我参加女儿的表演，她一年级，没什么艺术天份，就算如此。我泪流满面，像个孩子，这让我的世界重新有了意义。当当时我意识到，将这两件事连接起来，其实我生命中唯一重要的事，就是成为一个好父亲，比任何事都重要，比任何事都重要，我人生中唯一的目标就是做个好父亲。 那天我经历了一个奇迹，我活下來了。我还得到另一个启示，像是看见自己的未来再回來，改变自己的人生。
