Hello Beautiful People,
It was the first day of a new session of camp. The students were anywhere between six and nine. Young. Impressionable. Little.
And I had one student come up to me, frantic at the start of the day.
She hadn’t brushed her hair.
Clutching her little head, she informed me that her mother was coming to bring her a brush.
I assured her that she looked fine.
She looked at me like I was insane.
You don’t understand, she said. I have to worry about my looks. Kids are mean.
Well, that knocked the wind out of me.
Kids are mean? At the age of seven?
Kids are mean? Already? Before work? Before independence? Before high school? Before college? Before life has had a chance to disappoint them? Hurt them? Fail them?
See, I have a hard time accepting the fact that children are mean at the age of seven. I just can’t do it. I can’t believe it. Because we’re not born knowing how to hate.
We’re actually wired to love.
To care.
To feel.
We’re taught to hate.
And I can’t wait for that to stop. I can’t wait for the adults of the world to realize that their words don’t land on deaf ears. That children are like sponges, soaking up everything that they say. I can’t wait for the adults of the world to realize that children are always listening, especially when you don’t want them to. I can’t wait for the adults of the world to care about the intangible things that we leave our children, that all too often our words are more of a legacy than any inheritance could be.
I can’t wait.
And as this school year creeps real close around the corner, I hope everyone will think of this little girl.
I hope you’ll remember to talk instead of yell. I hope you’ll remember to listen when another cries. I hope you’ll remember to smile instead of frown.
And it doesn’t matter to me if you are a teacher or a student or a parent – I hope you’ll remember that a simple act of kindness could absolutely make all the difference in a child’s world.
Live, Love, Learn,