I was very socially awkward as a child. Some of that was probably due to being TS and not knowing yet, but mostly I chalk it up to being a giant geek and/or nerd. Now mostly I would try to laugh it off and turn the other cheek, " 'cause that's how I got raised up!" One time in the fourth grade this came back to bite me.
A particularly mean girl, her name was Meghan, decided it was her turn to have a go at me. I laughed it off only to have her turn and say to me, " No I'm not laughing with you, I'm laughing at you!" Like for real, an actual person actually said that! Well I teared up and was mortified and she got to smile smugly knowing she hurt me.
What I should said was, "My god, how can you be so stereotypically mean? Saturday morning specials called and they want you to play the jerk in everything they have ever done, ever." I was a pretty smart kid, re: giant nerd, so I am pretty sure I knew how to use the word 'stereotypically' correctly.
She was so petty that she couldn't let me laugh it off. Of course now here I am blogging about it years later so I can't really point the petty stick. Its a good point though, I remember very little from fourth grade. My teacher's face and name, my locker combination, who sat next to me, all forgotten but I remember this one girl and this one time she was so mean to me. I wonder sometimes if she remembers too. Has she become a better person now and from time to time when the memory strikes her does she say to herself, "Gosh I can believe I really said that?"
Myself, I use it as a reminder that they way we treat people stays with them. We can't always do or say the right thing but if we try, if we go out of our way to put the effort in, that can stay too. So in the words of Bill and Ted, be excellent to each other.
Ellinore Wilson.
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