See that girl with the laurel leaves in her hair? That's me, on graduation day, getting ready to walk across the stage and receive my Classical Diploma from Phillips Exeter Academy.

(Okay -- FINE. They're not laurel leaves. They're the kind of leaves that grow on the side of Langdell Hall, because no one told me you had to ORDER your crown before graduation. I mean... it's not like I had to order my diploma!)

My Classical Diploma means that I took four years of Latin and a year of ancient Greek. It means I know things. Like why it's so ridiculous that half my friends spell ridiculous with an -e. 

Kids these days -- amirite? 

​No, but actually. For real. Kids these days are more sensitive and fragile than kids of the past. Even according to the president of an elite university that I spoke with recently, “Today’s college students are not like you.”

Want me to lose your audience's attention immediately? Then drop the u-bomb. 

"Let's unpack this."

So you've been asked to give a speech, talk, or assembly. And you want it to be memorable. You want your audience to think -- to feel something. To question their entire worldview, perhaps. 

Now you just need a topic.

Skip the boring cliches. No one wants to hear you talk about abortion, the death penalty, gun rights, or minimum wage. These are huge and broad topics, and you're not an expert. You'll put your audience straight to sleep.

I'll come right out and say it: I'm not sure how I even made it to the semis. It's not that I don't have confidence -- I do (#ChooseBeautiful). It's more that every single songwriter in the first round was incredibly talented.

But regardless of how it happened, it happened. I progressed to the next round -- and I was incredibly lucky to have two good friends drive all the way to Capitola from Mountain View to cheer me on. (Maybe that's what I'll write my next song about! I'll call it "Over the Hill," or, "Basically Long Distance," or something.)

Video games are addictive -- literally. Kids have died, gotten obese, or contracted scurvy from this addiction. Others spend enough time at their console before the start of high school... that they basically could have completed several college degrees, had they spent that time reading, learning and discussing.

So why don't they?

Because, although many teachers are great educators... they just don't understand motivation the way video game companies do.

Fun fact: the other day, some crazy lady on the internet went haywire (or should I say... sleigh-wire?) at me because of a Facebook comment... about Santa. It wasn't the kind of "holiday cheer" I normally feel this time of year... but it did make me chuckle. 

​It also made me think -- should parents tell their kids about Santa? And as a psychologist, I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. Here's why:

Don’t you hate it when you ask someone how old they are, and they think it’s coy or cute or something to give you a non-answer? Or when you ask, “Where did you go to college?” and they say something weird and indirect that doesn't answer the question, like, “Northern California” or “in Boston." You know. Instead of the truth: “Stanford,” or “Harvard?”
 
People do this because they think they’re being “modest.” But actually, they’re being condescending little pricks.
​

This is a blog about playfulness, social skills and self-expression. I've mocked the idea of "expressing yourself" by wearing certain clothes, instead of creating or doing. Meanwhile, I'd been writing songs for over a year, without ever really sharing them with anyone...

Until now.

Let me start by saying: I lied. Kind of. Psychology research shows that Unless You're a Psychopath, You Are OBSESSED With What Others Think of You. Because the ability to cooperate and form large societies is one of the biggest evolutionary advantages ever, we are hardwired to care tremendously when people think bad things about us.

BUT! We can absolutely decrease how sensitive to and aware of others' opinions we feel. Here are three scientifically proven ways to liberate yourself, and just be you.