Thirty-eight years ago, I was the victim of severe bullying in school and I had an incident when a teacher became involved in the "teasing". Only one student in my class came to my aid, walked home with me, and offered support to me during one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I mean she wasn't even a friend of mine at the time. After the incident my parents got involved and thankfully the teacher put a stop to it.
However, A. was an angel. Now that I am 50 years old, I look back and think that she is one of the people I would like to thank for being there for me when it counted even though it may have seemed a small thing at the time. I think I realized it at the time too, but more so now that I am older. I decided to go into special education and really I think because of my experiences with bullying, I always cheer for the underdog which includes special needs kids. Even those of us who have done well in our lives, look back on such experiences with disgust(esp. as now I am an Educator myself) and really bullying never completely leaves you. Fortunately in my case, I've used it for good in my occupation and life. I know her maiden name, but for privacy reasons have chosen not to post it as of course that would not be fair to her. However, if you know someone of that name who is the same age as me, please let her know that I'd love to catch up with her if she's the same gal, see how she's doing and just say thanks. She could PM on here...now that would be a miracle if ebrandon was the link.
This thread could also be just to thank the many people (in general terms) in our lives who have done what seemed like "small" deeds that have had life-changing impact.
Edited by KittyKins, 2010-07-04 17:24:40