Have you ever had one incident changed your ENTIRE life? Like you could never erase it. It just won't go away. It just keeps haunting you. A major part of the reason I started blogging was to take that fear away. I would not be forced into silence. So I understand why Hannah choose to leave behind those tapes - she needed her voice to be heard.
I have always appeared to be older than I actually was and that has been a gift and a curse but as a 9- year old girl that looked 13 or so, it was HORRIBLE! Granted there is no excuse for what the person did and how they behaved...
I used to be extremely fond of rollerblading. I would skate in my parent's driveway almost every day after school. I probably did it a little too often because one day a man showed up out of nowhere. It scared me. I didn't know what was about to happen to me but I recognized the man because he worked at my school. He kept talking to me and wanting to know if my parents were home...it began to feel very uncomfortable and thank God my mom came outside. My mom questioned him but he didn't give any answers and she shoosed him away. It was weird and scary. Who knows what would have happened to me. Could I have been on someone's milk carton? My mom, being the type of mother she is wasn't going for that foolishness. She went to the school and reported the incident. He was let go due to the nature of his behavior and told to stay away from my family and I.
That incident changed my life and not in a good way. It was my first lesson with the rape culture and how you're expected not to say anything. I was bullied for months behind this. It was awful!!!!!! It got so bad that I didn't ride the bus to or from school anymore because people felt that I wanted the attention and shouldn't have been upset about getting it.
Some things may never change, children will be picked on...but what should we do? I believe as a parent it's my job to teach my children right from wrong. It's my job to help them understand that being mean to someone does not give them a leg up in the world.
Have you watched? If so, what are your thoughts? Is there anything you would change?