Keep Your Big Mouth Shut

Download a printable PDF of this article.

I’m loud, opinionated, and demand the last word. Yes, I’m mostly annoying and wrong as well. But I was raised in a crowded house, played on crowded streets, and attended a crowded school—50 to a class—so only those who shouted, screamed, and badgered were heard. If you were quiet and polite, you’d never get into our one bathroom or be included in our games of stickball and basketball. “He’s shy” was always spoken in a pitying tone as if he was suffering from an incurable disease.