The impact we have!

Yesturday at work I had to deal with a lot of bullying. Each time I heard one kid say to another, "you're stupid", or call names, I was reminded of a girl who teased me when I was younger. As an adult, the 5 year old in me is still terrified of being made fun of, so when I heard this I automatically defended who ever was being teased, whether they started it or not. There was not going to be that type of treatment on my watch.
We finally sat down for snack at about 3:30 pm; I was sitting at the end of the table talking to some of the kids as I ate my Triple Berry Trix nyogurt, which I found to be pleasantly good, when I heard a child sitting directly to my right call another child an awful name. The two adults I had been working with had been sitting at the table next to us. I'm not sure if they didn't hear or if they didnt know how to handle the situation, but I had had it! I finally looked at my female coworker and asked her as loudly as possible how she felt about bullying. Her reply was, " I think it's awful and we've had a lot of it today". She was a bit stunned in my abrupt asking, but quickly took on the role of helping me in my attempt to stop what had been going on all day.
It wasn't long before I had all 20 of their attention, and I said, "enough is enough!". I found a definition of bullying and read it aloud to the entire group, then asked if anyone felt if they had been treated in that manner. All but a few hands went up and I decided then and there that if I was going to get these kids to understand the impact they have on one another, that I was going to have to be real with them.
Earlier in the day they weren't listening, so they owed me 7 minutes of their time, and I felt this would be a great time to talk to them about what an impact one person could make. I set my timer for 7 min and told them not to say a word as I spoke. I began with a story of a girl named Christina. She made fun of me for nine years. From kindergarten to the day I left Haltome City in the eighth grade, I was the object of this girls' bullying. I told them everything that happened as she made fun of me and told me that no body liked me. I told the "cafeteria monitor", an old biddy that didn't care. I told them that as a five year old I should have never been told that I wasn't worth anything, and because no body cared, I was told that for nine years. That kind of impact reeks havoc on anybody, and that 20 years later I still have a hard time looking in the mirror believing that I'm worth more than nothing.
Every child in that room was silent and I could see that I had their attention. Chrissy, my coworker spoke up and told a similar story; that she had been the victim of bullying, but then became a bully herself. I felt like the kids understood what we were talking about, but hadn't yet really felt what I was trying to say. I felt it more important to show them that it doesn't matter how old you are, bullying never stops hurting.
It was silent. All eyes were on me and I told them that within the past three or four months, I have had two, count them, TWO "friends" tell me that I am "nobody" and that what I say has no value to them. Tears blurred my vision and my voice crackled with hurt. With my head bent, ashamed of having to say this, I put my pride to the side and told them that people I call friends don't care about me enough to listen to what I have to say or consider me more than just a nobody. I looked up and saw tears in their eyes. Some more than others, but I finally knew they understood what I had been trying to tell them. That it doesn't matter if you're ten or if you're twenty-four, people just want to be loved and cared for, not put down or dismissed, no matter their situation. As soon as I finished the timer went off. It was quite perfect, actually.
Quickly I had to change the subject, I was telling a bunch of nine thru twelve year olds more than I had told adults. I told them their trash needed to go in the trash can and we
needed to clean the cafeteria. They all stood from their seats and I started to fold one of the tables when the child who had been sitting on my right earlier calling names came up to me and asked where William was. I told him and continued with what I was doing. About a minute later I saw Logan talking to William with tears rolling down his bloodshot face. I knew then that being honest with these kids and showing them what happens to people who are treated badly was worth it. Maybe I made a difference for an hour, but maybe I spoke to someone's heart. I guess time will only tell.