The #metoo phenomenon over the past few months has been hitting home with me. Sexual harassment is something I’m all too familiar with. Having spent my life working in the music and restaurant businesses, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been verbally harassed by fans or had my rear grabbed with a set of kitchen tongs. 

For decades, I’ve made internal excuses for the behavior of my male colleagues. Unfortunately for me, I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve told myself that—if I want to work—these are the consequences. I tell myself not to be too sensitive so I don’t ruin the good time for the guys. 

Which is freaking backwards. 

So for the past seven years, I’ve been teaching at Girls Rock Camp in Madison. The program empowers young girls to express themselves, to believe in themselves, and to demand more for themselves. Teaching them to expect more from the world has helped me learn to expect more of it, too. 

Tonight, I catered a fundraiser for that Girls Rock Camp, and it did my heart so much good. Reader, the world is dastardly, but we can work to change it from the ground up. The more we help invest in future generations of girls, the more they will reshape it into a better one than we left them. 

And I hope that one includes more humor too. Here’s the menu I made tonight. (So dorky, but I clearly got a kick out it.) Keep smiling this week, and if you’ve got a little girl in your life, bolster her spirit. Show her you’re listening. And if there’s any way you can invest in her, do it. We don’t change solely by tearing down; we change by building up. See you next Sunday. -Em