I'll be your friend, Jamal. You can teach me how to talk all tough like you do!

Dipper... *sigh*

Typical Dipper right?

I'm glad that Jamal is finally learning that people out there do care about him, if he is willing to open up. Things are really starting to look up.

"don't you think I would have waited for the session to say all this.... oh and by the way these are billable hours technically... *coughs*"

Ah Dipper. Do you think Jamal is really tough? He sure acts tough. But he probably is just scared and afraid of being alone. He has been alone so much in his life. His fear and pain has turned to anger. Do you really want to scared, alone and in pain? Is that really tough? Real toughness is being kind to your best friend when he has to move away. Tough is forgiving your father when he has to leave to do his job instead of being at home with you. Tough is hurting and not being angry at others. Tough is accepting painful feelings when they happen. Dipper, you are already tougher than Jamal. I hope you see that. Maybe you just want to be your true self, and just keep loving the important people in your life.

Gee....but I don't feel tough...

Oh Dipper. Is it so important to feel tough? Yes it may make you feel stronger now. It may even seem to make the sad feelings go away. But it doesn't. Being tough the Jamal way, only makes you weaker later. I am sure Star helped you when you where a little cub and you thought the boogeyman was under your bed. Remember how the boogeyman seemed so frightening. Then Star showed you how to accept your fear. And the boogeyman turned out to be nothing without your fear of him. Emotions of loss, like Bobby moving away, are like that. They hurt. But our fear of the hurt makes them a thousand times more powerful to us. When we accept the hurt and feel the loss, it looses power. Oh, the hurt may still be there, but it is small. By accepting the hurt as part of how we feel, we gain control over it--just like the boogeyman. This is the real tough, not the fake tough Jamal shows. And always remember you have many people, like Birch and Star, who care for you and who you can talk too when feelings get scary or sad.

Yeah....both my Dad and Uncle Star taught me that...

Wow. There's a lot going on in this episode.
Jamal just got a whole lot more interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what's really behind the tough guy exterior.
And I wouldn't have guessed Sam had such a rough childhood. :c