BE kind.

I have always had a very sensitive spot in my heart for people getting picked on in a demeaning way. Since I was young, I remember feeling sad for the chubby boy in 3^rd grade and also the boy who talked like a girl. I don’t recall ever being in a position where I defended them, but I pledged to never be the person making them sad but the one who made them feel better after the bullies ceased.

In middle school, however, I do remember being a part of a group that singled out two girls that I had once been very close with. One was even family. The group of girls (including myself) I was a part of thought those two girls were immature and annoying and although no one really led the fight, as a whole we’d walk away when they approached us and talk behind their back. Eventually they got the hint and over time the whole situation became nonexistent. But the problem with a situation like that is although the daunting might eventually end, the pain and memories surely linger.  Even for me.

I think back to the way I acted to my cousin that I’d been best friends with my whole life and I really get upset. How could I have treated someone so special to me in that way? I understand that I was growing up in a slightly different direction and making many new friends, but I wish I hadn’t let that sensitive spot go astray during those years of adolescent.

When high school came, I matured back to that socially conscious stage and made an effort to always befriend the high school “crazies,” as they were known and was very friendly with the handicapped kids. I would call then by name, always wave and smile and definitely stood up for them when certain boys would try to get attention by harassing them. I remember feeling like a good person when Alice and her bff (his name has left me blank,) two kids with learning disabilities that came from poor families, would tell me how nice I was, how pretty I was and how much they liked me. Even though they weren’t the popular kids, it still felt good to hear them appreciate a simple gesture of mine, such as a genuine smile.

Now, as a substitute teacher at the same high school, I walk around and observe during class and feel such sadness because I understand that it is even easier these days for kids to get bullied. There are so many more religious traditions being practiced, like the Muslims wearing their hijab’s and Hindu’s with their turbins, pieces that definitely make those kids stand out.  

There are also a lot more migrant students with thick accents, a greater division of wealth and status and much more attention is being paid to fashion and designer wear. Sometimes it makes me wonder how these kids make it day to day and that revolts me back to such a divine appreciation for not only what I had growing up, but also who I was and will always be.

It’s nice to know that throughout my life I have always had an acute idea of right & wrong, especially when it comes to respecting others. Now, I just want to try to pass that pratice along to these younger generations. I’m not exactly sure how I’ll accomplish that aside from being a positive influence when I do substitute, but I’m searching and thinking hard enough that perhaps one day a move will come my way that will really allow me to change a child’s heart by creating that same sensitive spot in their soul that I have always had in mine.

PeaceNlove my friends.