One of the greatest joys of my job -- is having the opportunity to listen to the remarkable stories of some inspirational people. It doesn't happen every day...but every now and again, the good Lord drops someone in your lap as if to say, "Here. Pay attention. You could learn a thing or two."
Today was one of those days.
I was assigned to do a story on Bullying today. Which seemed like a great idea at the time (it was a story I fought for), but the concept of finding a child to not only admit that they've been bullied, but admit to it on television with 200,000+ people watching was daunting to say the least. 1,000 phone calls later...I found my interview. An 8th grader, who shared his story, but not his face. Can't blame the kid...bullies are tough.
This kid touched me in more ways than he knows. He's been bullied for five years. Teased because, at the ripe age of 13, he's smaller than most boys his age. He has glasses. He's intelligent...amazingly intelligent...and is taking classes at a high school level. And...he lives on a farm (which is apparently is apparently a teasable offense). He told me how he gets hit, punched and kicked in the hallways. How boys twice his size take great joy in seeing how far they can make him fly across the hallway with one swift swoop of the elbow. He says his classmates call him names, and spread rumors about him (one about his pet cow that almost brought him to tears). He says it's something new every week, and he doesn't see an end in sight.
It's heart breaking.
But what's more remarkable...is how he's handling it. That boy is much bigger than his body gives him credit for.
When I asked, "How does it make you feel when they do this to you? Do you feel..."
"Down on myself? No. I'm angry," he interrupted.
"Angry?"
"Yeah. Angry that this is still happening to people. Angry at their stupidity. That's all it is. Stupidity."
"It doesn't make you sad at all?"
"Yeah. Sad that they have to do this to other people to feel better about themselves."
That's deep. Especially coming from a 13-year-old boy who has spent the last five years being tormented. His insight into what was happening to him was profound. He was so eloquent. So well-spoken. He credits the bullying for giving him "life experience"...and says that it's helped him to grow as a person. Remarkable. Because if I was in his shoes, I'd probably be crying in a bathroom stall someplace.
I say that - because for the course of a few weeks, that's exactly what I was doing when I was only slightly younger than he is now. I ate my lunch in a bathroom stall with the door closed and locked shut. If someone walked in, I'd put my feet up to the stall door so I couldn't be recognized by my shoes. I tell ya, there's serious strategy when you're the kid that's picked on.
I felt the need to share this story with this kid. It's not something I often do when I'm interviewing people, because we have that whole shield of neutrality to uphold...but today, I made an exception.
I told him, "Wanna know what I think?"
::pause::
"I think you're gonna get the last laugh."
He snorted a bit...as if to scoff at the suggestion.
"No, really. You'll get the last laugh. And I'll tell you why."
He leaned in closer...
"Because I was bullied too."
His eyes got huge.
It's like something just clicked. Like this unspoken bond was brought to life...and the twinkle came back in his eye.
"Yeah, I was picked on a lot growing up."
"You were?"
"Uh-huh. And I got the last laugh."
"How?"
"Well...you see my teeth? I used to have really crooked teeth when I was a kid."
"Really?"
"Yup. And I had to have an expander. You know what that is?"
"Yeah! I had one of those too!"
"Yeah, the thing with the key? Yup. (For those of you that don't know, it's pretty much a medieval torture device. You should google it. It's a retainer that's basically cemented into your mouth, with a metal box in the center of it. That box, has a key hole, and you, the lucky-expander-wearing victim have to push a little key into that hole, twist it, and then wait for it to push your jaw further and further apart. I had to bring jars of baby food to lunch when they got tightened, because my teeth hurt so bad. Anyhoo - back to the story...) Well, I had to wear one of those when I was in middle school for a year. And the space between my front teeth was so big, I could fit my thumb in between them."
His eyes got bigger.
"Well, all it took was one kid. One tough, mean kid to make a joke...that got a few people to laugh, and before long the whole school joined in. You know what they said to me?"
"No...what?"
"You know the sign that refs make for a field goal in football?"
"Yeah"
"Well, that's the sign they used to make when they saw me walking down the hallway...and then they'd scream 'It's Good,' because they were saying the space between my teeth was as big as a field goal post. Brutal isn't it? I couldn't walk down the hallway for the better part of a month without someone doing that to me."
::pause::
"But I had the last laugh. And you wanna know why? Because that expander came out, the braces came on...and look at my teeth now. Perfectly straight. And you know how many people tell me they like my smile now?"
::silence::
"A lot...and he's still probably that same mean bully he was 13 years ago. So you my friend...will get the last laugh. You'll be their boss someday. You sir, are going places, and I can promise you that."
And then? A smile. And he goes, "Yanno? I think you're right. And I'll fire each of them."
Ha. What a kid. His spirit amazed me...and it was so refreshing to see things come full circle. To see myself in his shoes...as some pimple-faced, braces wearing, chubby, suck-up...and now that I proved my tormenters wrong...and he will too.
I can only hope that our little talk helped him as much as it helped me...
I'm thankful, not only that I had the chance to meet him, but that he trusted me enough to tell me his story. It's an honor. It really is.
Because kid...let me tell ya...you're going places.
I promise.
