Mighty Mara 2: Dancing with Dante

Mighty Mara returns in this second installment of her series about self-empowerment and celebrating differences

In Dancing with Dante, Mara learns "the golden rule" by thinking outside the box.

After a long summer, Mara is back at school and gets paired up with a new student named Dante to write a report on their favorite animals. But Dante can't seem to sit still or focus long enough to write anything down and Mara quickly becomes frustrated.

When Dante apologizes -- telling her that school is hard for him, following directions is tough (as it turns out, he's on the spectrum) and he often feels like an outsider (something Mara knows all too well) -- Mara realizes that showing Dante the same respect she craves is the key and the two decide to think about their project differently.

Maybe they don't need to write a report after all. Maybe they need to perform their report. It might not be how it's usually done in Sametown...but it doesn't mean it's not the right way for these new friends.