The 5 Most Important Words in Business: You Can Sit By Me

Her name was Claudine. And she was the meanest fourth grader at Byrom Elementary. Every single day, she wore an oversized burgundy Members Only jacket, Nike hi-tops and a scowl.

Claudine also ruled the bus.

The seats were full when I boarded the bus for my first day at a new school. All but one. Children gazed at me with wild eyes as I traipsed down the aisle towards the back of the bus with the awkward lankiness of a second grader weighted down by a Strawberry Shortcake backpack. Claudine, when she saw me coming, launched her heavy leg up onto the sticky vinyl seat.

“Don’t even think about sitting here.”

Gripping my backpack straps with 50 lbs. of boldness, I squeezed onto the edge of the seat, my tiny butt hitting up against the sole of her shoe. Claudine shifted and for a split-second I thought it meant that she was going to allow me a bigger portion of the seat. Then, without warning, her foot slammed into my body, pushing me onto the aisle floor.

My favorite rainbow shirt twisted around my body as my hands landed in the dirty sneaker water that inevitably pools up on bus floors. I picked myself up, making contact with her beady eyes that were silently celebrating her triumph. The other children craned their necks over the high seats, trying to capture a glimpse of our altercation.

I sat down again on the edge of the seat, one hand clutching the seat back in front of me, one hand gripping the leg that was bolted to the floor. I braced for shoe impact. Once again, Claudine pummeled me… over and over again like a factory machine… but I held tight. My tiny body slid along the cushion until only a fraction of a butt cheek was still in contact with the seat. I used my spindly legs to balance the rest of my body in the aisle, staring straight ahead until we pulled into the school parking lot.

I’d like to say that riding the bus got better, that Claudine and I eventually developed a healthy admiration for each other’s defiance. Or, in an ABC-After-School-Special kind of way, that we eventually became best of friends.

Every damn day she kicked at me with those Nike hi-tops and every day I braced myself.

After a few weeks, one of the kids on the bus, Kiersten, whispered to me as I walked past, “You can sit by me.” She was sitting next to another girl who instantly became panicked at the thought of three people sharing a bus seat. I stopped in my tracks, my face beaming with gratitude. They scrunched over and I, once again, balanced my tiny butt on the edge of the seat, supporting the rest of my body on lanky legs sprawled out into the aisle.

But, this time it was different. They asked me to be there. They wanted me to sit by them.

They made room for me.

It’s a simple childhood memory, but one that I think about often as I run my business.

•   •   •

The world is full of people who feel like they don’t belong, myself included. Misfits. Disrupters. Oddballs. Freethinkers. Champions of the weird. Shy people. Old people. Young people. People in general. Our common thread is that we all want to matter. We roam in a world that is hell-bent on forcing us into a box of pleasant mediocrity. Dress like this. Act like that. Be wittier with your tweets. Wear brown socks. Make more money. Keep your hands in your lap and for crying out loud, quit rocking the boat and asking so many damn questions.

Then… maybe… you’ll belong.

It sucks to hang out with the Claudines of the world simply because it’s the only option.

What if, instead, businesses went out of their way to make people feel important? What if scrunching together on a seat was the one thing that could make the biggest difference?

We need more businesses that will slide their leg off of the bus seats and say:

You can sit by me.

We get you.

We know what it’s like to feel as if you don’t belong.

We’re not like everyone else.

We are open to new possibilities.

We won’t judge you.

We love how weird you are.

We want to learn from you.

We’re glad you’re here.

We are all a little weird. In that commonality, we find a sense of belonging and understanding in the world. Make room for people. Let them in. Cherish their quirks.

“You can sit by me.”

Five words can change everything.

12 comments leave a reply
  • February 5, 2015 at 2:38 pm
    Robyn Petrik

    What a great story, and so relatable! I felt like a little kid again as I read the first half, and realized how sometimes that feeling has indeed come up while launching my copywriting business. What a wonderful idea instead to consciously make people feel welcome and share our knowledge with them!

    Reply

    • February 12, 2015 at 1:22 pm
      Maisie

      Thanks for the comment, Robyn! It’s funny how, right after posting this, the necessity to be inclusive in our businesses showed itself to me in interesting ways. Cheers to those of us who are scooting over! 🙂

      Reply

  • February 5, 2015 at 3:40 pm
    Caroline @ Shrinking Single

    Just such a lovely story. We definitely need more Kiersten’s in the world and I need to think more about how to be a Kiersten.

    Reply

    • February 12, 2015 at 1:22 pm
      Maisie

      Kiersten is my hero! Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts, Caroline.

      Reply

  • August 29, 2015 at 5:30 am
    Shea

    That was flippin’ splendid!

    Reply

  • October 8, 2015 at 10:50 am
    Coming Face-To-Face with the Nastiest Bully of All… Myself | Audacious Muse Writing Studio

    […] Claudine, a surly fourth grader who loved wearing Nike hi-tips, literally kicked me off of her seat and onto the dirty school bus floor when I was 8 years old. Our dance of defiance went on for weeks… I’d sit, she’d kick… until a girl named Kiersten scrunched over and let me sit next to her. […]

    Reply

  • January 7, 2016 at 3:38 pm
    What Grinding a Bunch of Stumps Can Teach You about Brand Storytelling | Audacious Muse Writing Studio

    […] I’ll be creating more posts about refining your brand story. In the meantime, check out this, this and this for more tips on how to put your stories out into the […]

    Reply

  • March 4, 2016 at 11:15 am
    What do you stand for? - Audacious Muse

    […] taking a stand and shouting as loudly as I can, “You can sit by me! I get you. I love how weird you are. I want to learn from you. And I’m glad you’re […]

    Reply

  • April 30, 2016 at 8:47 am
    Marsha from YesYesMarsha.com

    WONDERFUL.

    My new thing is to try and find compassion for the clearly unhappy Claudines of the world. Whilst also sitting nowhere near them, because, fuck those mean guys.

    Reply

    • May 9, 2016 at 1:22 pm
      Maisie Smith

      Ah, yes… compassion. It’s the hardest thing to offer up when someone is pummeling your ass/heart/soul. It’s also one of those life lessons constantly being thrown at me. 🙂

      Thanks for the comment, Marsha!

      Reply

  • July 12, 2017 at 4:03 pm
    What do you stand for? | Audacious Muse

    […] taking a stand and shouting as loudly as I can, “You can sit by me! I get you. I love how weird you are. I want to learn from you. And I’m glad you’re […]

    Reply

  • August 14, 2017 at 9:43 am
    Christa

    In a world where not a lot of things make sense right now, I think this message is more important than ever. I applaud your boldness.

    Reply

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