Recently, I was so touched by fellow students in my English class, and I felt I had to share why.
Our professor gave us an assignment, a more personal one, about scars that have impacted our lives. These scars could be emotional, physical, or mental. We were to write about our experiences, do further research on that topic, and give an oral presentation for our classmates.
Yes, getting up in front of an entire class and sharing personal stories doesn't seem like the easiest thing in the world. I'll tell you, with mine, I was terrified. You are practically exposing the most vulnerable aspect of your life to people you barely know. However, I never expected this assignment to affect me the way that it did.
We had three people present each day, each with their own story to share. The overwhelming nerves were apparent in every person. I don't think anyone necessarily wanted to open up, like this at least, to the class. It wasn't really something we had in mind.
Students got in front of our class and shared stories. There were stories about losing family members and how losing them impacted their growing up. There we're stories about being bullied in middle and high school, about being made fun of on social media, about being picked on for their weight, and even stories about slut shaming. Someone even came out to the class, introducing us to her girlfriend, and explained how her families reacted. She shared quotes from her family members that were so heartbreaking. Others shared family problems, relationship disasters, drug related problems, and how all of these experiences effected their family's dynamic.
All of the stories were so inspirational. These experiences created scars, or left a mark on their lives. They are experiences that my classmates will never be able to change. But through each one, they seem to have grown from it. They overcame the hardships they faced.
Although this assignment was tough and forced us to open up about some of the toughest times of our lives, it really opened my eyes.
Every single person has been through something, lost a loved one, or been hurt in some way shape or form.
Looking at them, you would never have guessed they went through these things.
I think it's important to treat everyone with respect and kindness.
You never know what people are going through.
