Today, I encountered a familiar situation with my daughter. She is an eclectic person, very unique and mature for her age. She loves music and art, and it shows in her personality and her appearance. While sometimes I am a little taken back by her style, I always feel compelled to let her be herself. She makes great decisions and has a lot of common sense and book sense. Today, she called me from school in tears because some senior students decided to make her the butt of some very derogatory jokes on Instagram. For those of you who are not familiar, Instagram is a social networking site of sorts, and is fast becoming popular with young people, just as My Space did a few years ago. She was so badly affected by the things that the students posted about her, that she made the decision to let go of who she really is, in order to be left alone by these students.
Well, being a concerned parent, who is very proud of her daughter's individuality, I immediately stopped what I was doing and made my way to her school. There I found her in the school's office, sitting, crying, and contemplating changing who she was to suit the needs of someone else. When she told me what she was going to do, I put these thoughts on her mind. "If you change who you are for them now, you will find yourself doing that when you get older. It may make them happy (though I am pretty sure it wouldn't), but what will it make you?" These kids, like many adults are afraid of the unknown. They don't know how to embrace the idea of BEING individuals, so they pick on those who have the courage to do so! Think of how you could let yourself down by giving into the whims of bullys--don't let them box you into what they want you to be. They are not worth your shrinking, but you owe it to yourself and the world to shine!"
Of course after a lengthy discussion with those in charge of the offending students, I expressed my intention to seek criminal charges and monetary recompense for the harassment, if they continued this depraved behavior. I let them know that I would not tolerate it, and would go to any length to protect my daughter..as in the famous words of Malcolm X...by any means necessary. Normally, I am not this type of person. But today, I was taken to a place where what needed to be said, had to be said...right then, at that moment.
So the message today is, to not be afraid of the unknown...it's so much better to embrace it. If those kids had taken half the time to introduce themselves to my daughter and asked her to share something about herself, then they could have made an informed decision about whether or not, they were going to be friends with her. The same is true with many adults. We spend so much time judging a book by it's cover, we never take the time to unlock the power inside it! Just because something is different, it doesn't mean that it is bad. Don't knock the unknown, because while it can be dark, more often than not, you will find a one of kind treasure in something or someone. It's also important that we take care of our children. They are our future, and I definitely want mine to be bright! Cyberbullying is a growing trend that could be potentially dangerous and heartbreaking for the victim. For more information about cyberbullying, go to stopcyberbullying.org
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