A Kind Word
A hearty greeting to those who have ventured upon my ramblings. In today's post we will examine the powerful affects of words.
About the middle of my 7th grade year, the powers that be decided to move our 5th period study hall. we were meeting in the cafeteria/ library, but I think they wanted us out to better prepare for the lunch rush. There were about 15-18 7th graders in that study hall, and we were quite shocked where we got moved to.
Our school was older, and to make up for a lack of space, a trailer was moved in to make another classroom. This is where everyone went for health class. But during this period, it wasn't being used as a health class. It was a study hall. An 8th grade study hall.
I don't know about your school, but at mine, the seventh graders lived in fear of the eighth graders. We all knew that they became horrible flesh-eating monsters after dark, and were just plain undesirable to be around. In a word, we were terrified just being in their presence. It didn't help matters that we were marched in, comments like "What are those nerds doing here?" and "Why do the little kids have to be in here?" filled the air.
All of us 7th graders were wide-eyed and terrified. I don't think any of us cracked a book that first day. Then something happened that broke the ice.
An 8th grade girl sitting next to me slid me a note. I don't remember the note word for word, but the gist of it was this:
Hello,
My name is Jill. What's yours? You look frightened. Don't be. I know the guys talk big, but it's all talk. You are here in study hall to study. It's a time to get your work done so you don't have to take it home. If you ignore the guys, they will leave you alone. They have stuff they need to get done too. Just take a deep breath and get to studying.
Sincerely,
Jill
You don't know how nice it was having her write that. We remained friends through graduation(not real close, but always kept a friendly rapport). Her kind words back in 1977 are still remembered vividly today.
Did a school mate ever go out of their way to do something nice for you?
No comments:
Post a Comment