It makes me think about my a High School life, and I feel for this girl. When I started High School, I had many friends, and a boyfriend that I really liked, but as I went through my Sophomore and Junior year, things dramatically changed.
High School is all about labels... who you date, what you wear, what you drive, what clique you belong to. It is sad that it has to be that way, but that is just the way that it is, at least it was 10 years ago, and I can't imagine what it is like now.
I dated a boy in high school for a long time (2 years) which I might add, you probably shouldn't ever do. Anyways, when my relationship with this boy came to an end, so did my world. I was so naive, that I didn't realize that my friends, were just my friends because of who I was dating. In about a week, I lost all my friends, my boyfriend, and everything that I knew to be my high school life. This boy said things about me that weren't true, and he turned my reputation into something disgusting. It seemed the more I tried to set the record straight, the more people didn't believe me, so after a while, I just gave up. I didn't know what I did to deserve that, I hadn't done anything wrong, and yet, I was left questioning myself and re-running the entire 2 years in my head trying to figure out what the hell went wrong. I felt used, deserted, humiliated, and it became a really dark place for me. I went from sitting at the "popular table" with all of my so called friends, to sitting at one in the corner all by myself, or if I could, I would escape out to my car at lunch time to avoid the awkward feeling that I got if I ran into anyone.
There was one girl that saw what was happening and she reached out to me. She didn't care what people thought, and she didn't look at me the way that they did. Katie Saunderson basically saved me that year. She showed me what it was like to look past what I was labeled; she showed me that there was more to me then what they said, and she stood up for me. Something that I was too broken to do myself. I don't know that would have happened to me if she hadn't been there... I might have just gotten lost in the shuffle, but nevertheless, I think I made it through that time because of her.
I know that we have all changed, and none of us are who we were in High School. People grow and become aware of feelings. I know everyone looks back and wishes that they could change something... thinking "I wish I knew then, what I know now" but I think that it makes us who we are, and for that, I will always be grateful for that time in my life. Katie taught me how to be strong, and how to look the other way, and to realize my self worth.
When I think about that car, and what the poor girl must be feeling, all I can do is hope that she has a Katie Saunderson in her life. I know what it feels like to be labeled something that you aren't, and I wonder why we even need to label at all. I just hope that the person who wrote that on her car will look back someday and have that be the moment that they wish they could take back...hopefully.
Thank you Katie. Your Kindness, acceptance, and fearlessness meant more to me then you will ever know. You made me brave!
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