9. “It makes me cringe to remember how rude I was to women as a young man. I would stand girls up if something or someone better came along in an instant, without explanation. I could tell you I was the captain of my high school’s football team, but that seems like a lame excuse to become totally numb to human emotion for a decade. Anyway, what changed everything was the woman who’s now my wife. She had no fear, and she told me on our third date that I was being an idiot and that I shouldn’t bother calling her again unless I planned to treat her with the respect she deserved. She shocked me into reconsidering my behavior. I’m so grateful she came along and bitch slapped me. Except that ‘bitch slapped’ isn’t something I say anymore. She humanized me, dude.”
— Justin, 27
