A friend of mine decided to share her story about bullying in honor of today being Spirit Day. In the spirit of her post, I decided to share my
own experiences with bullying.
Bullying is not a word I use lightly so I'll say that I was
teased, quite mercilessly, for many years because of my weight. Whereas my friend was teased for being
"overweight", I was teased for being "underweight". I was called names like "flaca",
"palitroque", "paper", "flat chested" and even once "Anorexic
Girl". I was asked really rude
questions like "Do you actually eat?", "Have you reached 3-digit
numbers yet?" and "Does it hurt?" I hated being skinny so much
that I even tried different medications in an attempt to put on weight (which
as you can tell all failed). All those
moments hurt and frustrated me! I couldn’t
help my body type and yet I felt like I was being punished for it. Those moments were little dagger wounds that scarred my soul. With time and
growth, they healed but left indelible marks. You can
never really forget! I never
contemplated suicide though. Not for a moment, because I was taught that there
is so much more to live for. I am
fortunate to have amazing parents who always made me feel protected and taught me the importance of having self-worth. Even though I shed my fair share of tears, it taught me about what it means
to be vulnerable and to rise above it.
It taught me that we ALL feel!
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| Twiggy Isa is on the right |
I am one of the lucky ones! I found a
wonderful partner who ALWAYS makes me feel beautiful and desirable, even when I
don’t feel it. He respects me and never,
ever allows me to feel shame for being who I am…who I was meant to be!
I'm not a parent yet but my experiences, coupled with the life lessons that my parents and husband have taught me tell me about the kind of parent I hope to be one day. I hope to teach my children about why it's so important to be kind and accepting of others. I hope to teach them that friends come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I hope to teach them that if they are ever bullied, that it's okay to talk about it [with us]. I hope to teach them to be proud of themselves and never hide. I hope to teach them that we all get teased, sadly it's a part of life, but what really counts is being able to rise above it and grow from it. And I hope to teach them the importance of laughter because it really is one of the best medicines! (So basically, as parents we really have our work cut out for us, lol)
Bullying has become a cancer on our society, but it is not incurable! It is now up to us to coach and guide the next generation to eradicate bullying!
"If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself then make a change."
~Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror"
Fabulous! :)
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