Blast from the Past

I've been working at this school in Maine who has this "No Bullying" policy. I look at the signs that they have up and the kids making posters for it and it makes me think back to how I used to get made fun of SO much when I was growing up.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've come into contact with those people who used to bully me in jr high and high school. First, when I worked on the potato harvester(yes, I did that) and then in stores, gas stations...I've come into contact with three people who used to bully me...and I wonder what kind of people they have become today. Do they still do that? Are they getting picked on? Do they even remember me? The first one, on the harvester, didn't even remember that he used to bully me into finishing his english homework...wow. Don't judge me... I didn't want to get beat up.

Seeing them got me thinking about how I've changed even since high school. It's amazing how much less you have in common with people after you haven't seen them for five years. Mental. This summer, I was able to see Tash and Evy that I met while in New Zealand. It was great to see them, but Tash said something to me that still has me thinking every single day. She said to me after being around me for about forty-five minutes, "You're not the same as you were in New Zealand."

I know that she didn't mean to offend at all, but all I could think was "Ouch!" How had I let that happen? How had I let the person who I had become, get pushed to the backburner...what had I done to allow that to happen? Does that happen when you adapt back into your own culture...your comfort zone? Was I always like that, or just around people that I hadn't seen in a while...because people at camp thought that I was random, spontaneous, and ridiculous...so what has me holding a part of me back?

I dare you to ask yourself the same question...What has you holding a part of yourself back...