I'm pretty hard on Catherine. I'll be the first to admit that we clash in the morning and choosing not to be her friend during that hour is the only way to make it work. I don't always like Catherine or her behavior but I have a certain love for her. I see her every morning and feel very protective of her. I learned this pretty quickly one morning when I brought Catherine to school and witnessed the bullying that was taking place.
I wasn't in the best of moods after fighting with Catherine all morning, but when I was signing her in to before-school-care two little boys showed me that I needed to be more sensitive and realize that Catherine’s a person too and her life isn’t easy. These two little jocks-in-training started following Catherine around saying "Hey, vampire! Oh look the vampire is here.” The hairs on the back of my neck shot up. I was teased in school for being "too white" among various other things. Growing up in sun kissed Miami, FL didn’t help either. I vividly remember going to school in 8th grade with a white shirt on and having a group of my friends publicly tease me; saying things like "Hey Candace! Why didn't you wear a shirt today?!". Did they mean to scar me for life? Probably not, but I didn't wear shorts until my last semester of college. In fact, I still shy away from them. And I've been shaving my arms since 7th grade because of the comments about how black my hair was against my white skin. I don't remember what it looks like to have hair on my arms. I probably never will.
I wanted to kill those two little boys in that instant. I didn't want to leave the school and what was even more horrifying to me was that the teacher heard this and did nothing. I tried to check myself by thinking maybe being a vampire is a good thing now with this entire Twilight craze but it wasn’t. Their tone was awful. I decided that since I'm only the nanny, I needed to talk to the mom before ripping the boys and the teacher a new one. I called Catherine's mom immediately and she said she would talk to Catherine about it and thanked me for calling. She didn’t really seem to have the same reaction as me. I was fuming all day; reliving my own experiences and wishing I could shelter Catherine from all that pain. Not to mention the haunting thoughts about how much worse it will feel when it is my own child.
Her mom texted me later that night saying that Catherine didn't seem phased by it. But in my heart I still know she is. She refuses to wear shorts, skirts, or anything without long sleeves and she went through a period of time where she was drawing vampires a lot. Both go unexplained. I guess kids are mean and it’s a harsh thing we all have to deal with. The only way to protect a child is by arming them with confidence; reminding them how beautiful and special they are. As well as making sure they aren't the one bullying.
Maybe those kids built character in both Catherine and I. Maybe we are the better people because we have those internal scars. Maybe kids won't ever be nice to each other; adults have a hard enough time. But at the end of the day we can't stay blissfully unaware of their pains. We have to remember it’s out there and be careful with the things we do and say. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a fairytale. And while some may be strong enough to actually live by that, most of us have carried those thoughtless and cruel remarks with us into adulthood. Remarks that the other person may have never thought twice about.
Maybe this post wasn’t funny and won't be a favorite amongst readers, but I can’t stand by without asking everyone to think twice.
I wasn't in the best of moods after fighting with Catherine all morning, but when I was signing her in to before-school-care two little boys showed me that I needed to be more sensitive and realize that Catherine’s a person too and her life isn’t easy. These two little jocks-in-training started following Catherine around saying "Hey, vampire! Oh look the vampire is here.” The hairs on the back of my neck shot up. I was teased in school for being "too white" among various other things. Growing up in sun kissed Miami, FL didn’t help either. I vividly remember going to school in 8th grade with a white shirt on and having a group of my friends publicly tease me; saying things like "Hey Candace! Why didn't you wear a shirt today?!". Did they mean to scar me for life? Probably not, but I didn't wear shorts until my last semester of college. In fact, I still shy away from them. And I've been shaving my arms since 7th grade because of the comments about how black my hair was against my white skin. I don't remember what it looks like to have hair on my arms. I probably never will.
I wanted to kill those two little boys in that instant. I didn't want to leave the school and what was even more horrifying to me was that the teacher heard this and did nothing. I tried to check myself by thinking maybe being a vampire is a good thing now with this entire Twilight craze but it wasn’t. Their tone was awful. I decided that since I'm only the nanny, I needed to talk to the mom before ripping the boys and the teacher a new one. I called Catherine's mom immediately and she said she would talk to Catherine about it and thanked me for calling. She didn’t really seem to have the same reaction as me. I was fuming all day; reliving my own experiences and wishing I could shelter Catherine from all that pain. Not to mention the haunting thoughts about how much worse it will feel when it is my own child.
Her mom texted me later that night saying that Catherine didn't seem phased by it. But in my heart I still know she is. She refuses to wear shorts, skirts, or anything without long sleeves and she went through a period of time where she was drawing vampires a lot. Both go unexplained. I guess kids are mean and it’s a harsh thing we all have to deal with. The only way to protect a child is by arming them with confidence; reminding them how beautiful and special they are. As well as making sure they aren't the one bullying.
Maybe those kids built character in both Catherine and I. Maybe we are the better people because we have those internal scars. Maybe kids won't ever be nice to each other; adults have a hard enough time. But at the end of the day we can't stay blissfully unaware of their pains. We have to remember it’s out there and be careful with the things we do and say. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a fairytale. And while some may be strong enough to actually live by that, most of us have carried those thoughtless and cruel remarks with us into adulthood. Remarks that the other person may have never thought twice about.
Maybe this post wasn’t funny and won't be a favorite amongst readers, but I can’t stand by without asking everyone to think twice.
I have listed some website on bullying below.
Thank you!
C
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