THE DUMBO DAYS ARE OVER
Dumbo is a high flying, circus starring global icon. Dumbo was that guy; he probably still is that guy. For over 83 years, Dumbo has taught kids around the world that embracing your differences is your superpower.
For at least one kid in particular, that lesson stuck, arguably, a little too much. We have him on record for the first time:
Hey, I’m Karim, formerly known as Dumbo. Not the baby elephant, the Egyptian kid with big ears.
The kids at school used to call me Dumbo, for my big ears. Not to Dumbo dump on you, but it was tough.
The only thing that got me through those days was that movie; I watched it over and over. Even though my ears couldn’t get me to fly (they honestly don’t even hear that well), I listened to Dumbo very, very closely: being different is your ticket to flying high.
Fast forward more than a decade later, I started working on BAYT SKYMEN. For the longest time, all I had to say about it was that I wanted it to be “different.” I always wanted to do things differently. But for the first time, just “different” wasn’t going to cut it.
And at that moment, it all hit me: this was Dumbo’s doing. I had internalized Dumbo, because I was Dumbo. I lived the better part of my life feeling like I always had to be different, even in the times when I wasn’t different.
Now, that I see it so clearly, I’m here to declare that THE DUMBO DAYS ARE OVER.
In the PROJECT ONE, Karim celebrates that THE DUMBO DAYS ARE OVER by making fun of being different for the sake of being different, vowing never to force it again. Thank you Karim for your bravery in speaking up on such a pressing issue.
