I went to the same elementary school from Kinder-8th grade. We were like a little family. I was turning 11 and begged my parents to let me have a party at our house. Now, these were the days of having a party at McDonald's(no lavish bashes for us.)
Finally, my parents gave in, and I was allowed to invite friends from my class. There was one girl in our class that was often picked on because she smelled at times. Later on I found out that she lived in the projects with her grandmother and they didn't have a lot of money.
Anyway, all of the name calling caused her to turn into the bully and she was mean as all get out. I don't remember ever calling her bad names, but she would give me dirty looks and I think she pushed me a few times on the playground.
So, it's the day that I'm handing out all of my invites to the kids in class. I'm walking around to all of the kids, and out of the corner of my eye I see her watching me. She had this look on her face where you can tell that she wants one too. I remember thinking, "I'm not going to invite that mean girl to my party." But, in the next minute another voice told me that it's the right thing to do. Kinda, angel on one shoulder and devil on the other.
So, I walk over and say, "R, I'm having a party and you might not be able to come but here is an invite." I didn't even wait to hear what she was going to say and ran to my seat.
FF, to the day of the party. It's about 30 minutes before the party starts and the doorbell rings. It's R and her little sister all dressed up, with ruffle socks and everything. My mom pulled me to the side and asked who they were and why were they were so early. I told her the story, and she gave me a hug and told me I did the right thing.
Y'all, R and her little sister had such a good time. I think they had more fun then I did. They shut the party down. That following Monday, I could tell that the kids were treating her differently and she wasn't being mean to them. It stuck for the rest of our time in elementary school.
It just always reminds me that one small act of kindness can really change another person's life.
Now we are fb friends. Ha.
