I was watching this program on bullying and how there is this organization that is providing schools with a 1 or 3 day workshop intensive (it might just be one day) on bullying and it teaches them why people bully and it teaches them to be emotionally honest. They showed them apologizing by the end of it to those who they have been mean to.
I got really emotional when watching it.
The web site is www.bethechange.org but it is currently under construction. The show showed the school 3 months afterwards and the school has maintained the change. I think the school has a regular type of weekly or monthly meeting because the program teaches them that it's every day they have to work at being honest emotionally with themselves.
I'm not doing the show I saw justice but it really was a profound program. Instead of complaining about how youth is going nowhere, an organization is created to help teach them vital emotional skills that take most people a lifetime to learn and some not at all.
The program teaches empathy skills, being honest with yourself, realizing that you are not alone and that those who bully probably have been bullied themselves or bully for their own protection. And to make an effort to get to know someone instead of making assumptions and judgements about them.
I thought back to my school days and recall teasing a girl in elementary school but then I started feeling bad. I wasn't making fun of her to her face, just behind her back. I'm glad I eventually realized that it's not nice to insult people. There was another girl too in elementary school who got picked on in grade 6. There were 2 main groups among the girls. The cool groups spearheaded by one main girl and then the rest of them. I was a free radical along with my best friend who weren't really part of those 2 groups but did socialize more with the 'non-cool' girls. This one girl was hated by the cool girls and she went to the 'nerds' and then the cool girls liked her so she went back to them and this kept going on and then she hung out with me and my friend and then back to the cool girls.
I was picked on in grade 9 pretty bad. I've had a couple of guys tease me. I had glasses so I guess they assumed I was nerdy. I made this one goof up with my friends because they were trying to hook me up with some guy who my friend at the time was dating one of his friends in the group. They encouraged me to call him but I ended up hanging up on him because I was scared. The next day in school these 2 girls who were friends with the guy were harassing me about what I did. I was shocked and scared and the one girl made me uncomfortable for years. She was a year older then me too.
I don't feel hatrad to towards them because I think people that hurt people have their own issues. It doesn't make it okay. I think people who can't deal with their emotions and frustrations, disappoints, fear etc lash out at people. Everyone has pain but some people just haven't learned how to cope with the struggles of life in a positive manner.
And some people don't realize that their words and actions affects the feelings of those around them.
We all need courage in our daily lives.
We don't need courage just once or maybe just 3 times a month.
We need it on a daily basis, for every moment of our lives.
If anyone is reading this, especially a young person, keep up and be loving to yourself and others even if they are mean and you feel they should suffer.
Be honest with yourself and have confidence in yourself. Don't follow the crowd. Have a mind of your own when socializing with people.
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