It was in the middle of a class conversation
that a student said
"yea its like when I was called a loop"
"a loop" I replied?
"Yeah Mrs Whipple....you know a loop. Like girls get called loops, they loop from guy to guy...basically calling a girl a slut".
And I looked at this beautiful 15 year old girl
with a knot in my throat and said
"you have to believe you are not another person's words....you believe that right?"
she shrugged and then looked down at her iphone
because do we really believe that we are not?
It all goes back to the age old phrase
sticks and stones....
sticks and stones hurt just as much as words
and words hurt without measure.
But that is just the thing
they aren't just words
they can be others perception of
YOU
YOU the person that is supposed to be most natural
the person that is supposed to love you despite the bad
the person that is supposed to catapult yourself to success.
When there is a belief in the words of others
confidence can be shattered.
I feel as though the older and older I get
the more I am experiencing
problems with words.
Not just in others
but my own as well.
How do we cure our language and our expressions
so that the understanding
stands
that words are not just words.
They cost something.
The price of words should not be cheap,
words are feelings
and they carry a weight
heavy enough to reach the depths of our souls.
Words should we like well thought out purchases
considering all options
before picking the shiny new car.
Too bad society doesn't have time or interest to complete the market research
on words
As teachers we can lead by encouragement, and example
but we can't do enough to fix the sadness in kids
not all kids
not all the time
and not enough to shape
their perceptions of themselves.
To solve the problem entirely...I don't know
it seems
the best that we can do
is to share words
that make the hurt a little less
the weight a little easier to carry.
So I leave you with this...
As we worry about the economy
or the government
or how our many minutes we have to relax in a day
take a minute
and worry about someone else,
Don't
be
cheap
don't save your words up.
Spend them all on someone who needs them
Wrap them in a positivity
encouragement
admiration
love
and celebration
And maybe just maybe
they will "loop" back around.
