Dear 7th grade Kimmy,
You have friends from many different groups of people. Your friends do not always get along. You will be put into tricky situations where your friends will say mean things about each other. They will write notes to each other making fun of someone and they will also start rumors. It is important that you stand your ground and do not take part in this. It can hurt feelings and ruin friendships. I will explain to you different things that you can do to prevent this from happening.
First of all, try staying away from drama and rumors. When somebody is telling you something that somebody did one thing you can do is just ignore it. Most definitely do not repeat the information. You do not know if it is valid information or how the story has been twisted. Always think of the telephone game where a sentence or word has to be repeated through a line of people. It is never the same word or sentence in the end. Even if the information is true, it is none of your business.
Do not have any part in making fun of people. You may think that by not making the jokes that you are not being mean. Truth is being a bystander can be just as hurtful. Do not laugh or support jokes made about other people. Instead say that the joke is not funny and that it can be hurtful. This will show the people that they do not get the attention that they want for making fun of people. It will show them that it is an unacceptable way to act.
Writing mean things does not make you funny. People may write mean things and others might laugh but that does not make it funny or okay. In the end you will just feel guilty or ashamed of yourself for saying such things.
Put yourself in other people’s shoes. Imagine if the joke was being made about you. How would that make you feel? How would you feel about the person saying it? You would most likely feel hurt and upset. You also would probably not think to highly of the person who said it.
Think about the person you want to be. Do you want to be remembered as the person who made people feel bad about themselves or do you want to be the person who made people feel good about themselves. Think about who you are and what feels right to you. If there is a voice in the back of your mind saying that what you’re doing could be hurtful, you should listen to that voice.
Do not fall into the drama. Stick up for yourself and for other people. Think about the person that you want to be. You know what is right in wrong. These are things you will need to remember for the rest of your life. Even as an adult you will be faced with situations that you will need to decide how to respond. Be a true friend and remember to be true to yourself.
From, Future Kimmy
This is really good advice, it goes into all of the different ways you can go about changing things. Not just one. All of the information is true, and would be helpful in getting yourself to change the actions that the 7th grade you took part in had you received this letter. I know that it would have also helped me as well if I had received it.
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