you were my best friend at school
I lost pretty much all my school friends after leaving. I found that alcohol was far more enticing and I just drifted away until they hated
Read More...Tag: teenage drama
so they do actually trust me
It’s a funny little thing,
To know that you’re loved,
That they trust your word
And the advice that you give,
It hums in your bones
And puts warmth in your belly,
Knowing they like you,
That they care what you say.
I have a real issue with thinking that people don’t like me, so when I get proof that they do, it can sometimes come as a bit of a shock.
As a teacher, you are putting yourself up for being mocked, and being picked on by teenagers can be miserable. Teenagers are mean.
I have a slightly tricky Year 9 group and there are a couple of girls that are always sniggering in my class. I have spent the whole half term worrying that they hate me.
But yesterday, just before the end of lunch two of them rushed into my room and stood wuietly in front of me, quite obviously deliberating whether or not to confide in me.
“Tell her!” one hissed at the other.
“I don’t think I should,” whispered the girl.
I shifted my weight as I waited for her to word vomit whatever it was just before the bell.
I managed to get out of her that shee was having a friendship issue and she was wanting my advice on what to do. Her plan was to ‘get revenge’, which I told her may not be the best idea. I told her to enjoy her half term and have a break from social media and all the bitching that can go on between fourteen year old girls.
She nodded and off they ran, as the bell began to sound.
I was left standing in my doorway, wandering how I had gotten it so wrong again. I’m obviously doing something right and that was a nice feeling.
Much Love
Rachel xx
the healing effect of an apology
They stared at me, maliciously – or so I thought,
They were probably just uncomfortable,
Around my silence and my simple defiance.
I could feel the shame bubbling up inside
And so my energy seeped, and life turned dark.
They did blood tests and shone lights in my eyes,
But, of course, nothing showed up – nothing’s wrong
Despite the fact this aching lethargy
Peppered my bones for several months.
And then one day, I crawled back to that pool,
I cried and told him, I’d never leave again.
It was a load of crap really,
But I did mean one thing -that I was sorry,
I meant that with all my heart. I recovered soon,
With that weight lifted off. The apology
Was was a shadowy turning point.
I find apologising really hard, but every time I’ve done it, and really meant it, it’s been a really healing experience. There is a reason that an apology is one of the twelve steps in a recovery programme – it’s powerful.
I remember when I was a teenager I was a swimmer and I got it into my head that my coach hated me. I left his squad and the decision ate me up for months.
I started to get very tired and within a few months I went from being able to swim 10k to struggling to climb a flight of stairs. I went to my doctor and had tests and reviews and nothing showed up. Apparently, I was completely healthy.
Eventually, feeling so sad and low, I dragged myself to the pool and cried uncontrollably on this poor man. I said I was sorry and I really meant it, and knowing that I was forgiven was even more freeing.
Whether my remarkable recovery had anything to do with this is anyone’s guess, but I like to think that the universe knows when something good has taken place, and rewards it.
Much Love,
Rachel xx