Pandemic Growth

 Today I am going to a friend's house to give a pep talk to a friend's daughter because she is being bullied at school and doesn't want to go to school. 

I have experience with being bullied and when I became a teacher I absolutely didn't allow any bullying. I knew the life long scars it causes. 

Schools in the past were horrible about helping kids who are being bullied, so I made sure that it was dealt with. One time I even drove to a bus stop to deal with it. Kids in my 6th grade class would bring me students that weren't even in my class that were being bullied to get help and I helped everyone and in every single situation I put a stop to it. 

My daughter was bullied for 2 years and refused to let me report it until it became unbearable and the school did put a stop to it. 

But today I hope to leave this child's house giving her the mindset to embrace this scary and bad situation as an opportunity to grow and even change because of the trauma she is experiencing it. We are all familiar with the term PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and it's a real mother fucking thing, but I once read someone use the term Post Traumatic Growth. 

I believe you can have both. 

PTSD is something that happens to you that you usually had no control over, but PTG is something you CAN have control over. 

This is the gift the Pandemic has given so many people. Just today my neighbor walked by with her dog and shared with me how she has quit a toxic job. So many people are reevaluating their lives during this time. I think we are all so bombarded with this virus that is millions of people that it is making us really stop and think about what is important. 

That's where I find myself once again, trying to regroup and grow.