Bullying

I hate when people wave off bullying and say that the child/teen won’t remember one day. That’s not true. That shit stays with you. It haunts you. It makes it so that when you don’t feel confident looking in the mirror, it’s their voice inside your head. It shapes who you are, how you treat people, & more importantly, how you see yourself.

So, instead of looking the other way, reinforce to that child/teen that they are beautiful, wonderful & wanted. Make them doubt the haters, not themselves.

And if they are grown & still suffering the effects of that cruelty, don’t tell them to just get over it. Tell them that it’s okay to still hurt; that their feelings are valid. Teach them how to forgive themselves. Yes, themselves. Because they also hold anger & pain for the child they once were. They wish they’d been strong enough to stand up to the hatred as a kid.

Remind them that the person they are now is stronger because of what they endured & that they’ll never let that happen again. Stop telling people that their fear, their insecurities, their pain is stupid. Start protecting the kids who turn into those people. Make sure they don’t grow into humans who hold doubt, anger & sadness due to someone else’s own fear, insecurity & pain… doubt, anger & sadness.