I learned not to give them one tidy sentence.

The girls’ achievement had always been happy.

My discovery had been painful.

What happened afterward required years of ordinary effort.

I was not entitled to a perfect resolution simply because I had finally understood my mistakes.

I was entitled to the work of changing, and to the uncertainty of whether those I’d hurt would choose to let me close.

PART 27: The Seat in the Third Row

Several years after that first unforgettable awards ceremony, I returned to an auditorium for another academic event.