Difficult Time in My Life
When I considered writing about any difficult time in my life, I thought about my past and there are some low times, but none that stick out more than my teen years. If there were a time I would never want to visit again, it would certainly be then.
I hated high school and being teen. Even though I went to a rather small high school, there were several cliques, of which, I didn’t fit in. I did not feel accepted. This may or may not be the universal truth to high school, but there were kids who appeared as if they fit in and had lots of friends.
During those years, I had my first encounter with mean girls, who were merciless in their judgements of people, including me. Those of you who know me, know that I’m thin-skinned. This has been both a curse and a blessing. As a curse, I take things to heart very easily, and I’m
often hurt. As a blessing, I have a deep empathy with people and try to accept them where and how they are. So, you can imagine, how wounding it must have been to be judged, criticized and bullied when you were only 13 years old.
It wasn’t all bad, however. There was my grandma. She loved me wholeheartedly and always made me feel accepted and loved. She embraced my flaws, imperfections and mistakes. She never judged me and always had kind words and a smile, and candy. She died when I was 16 years old. She was young too. The last thing she said to me was, “Stay the way you are. Don’t change.” I think that she would be pleased.
