Dear Potential School Shooter

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Dear Potential School Shooter, Bomber or Bully,
 
I’m sorry that you have been treated badly. You are a child of God and you are worthy of love by your very existence. However, you do not have to see yourself as a perpetual victim of your circumstances and you do not need to create victims to be heard.
 
You wish others would be kind. Are you kind? You wish others would reach out to you in your loneliness. Do you reach out to others? You long for someone to understand the pain you feel. Have you considered for a moment that everyone is in pain?

That pretty girl that won’t even smile at you… she has an anxiety disorder and could barely get herself to school. The football player who purposely bumped into you as he walked passed… his dad hit him last night. The kid in the corner, wanting to be invisible… maybe you could reach out to him, instead of feeling badly because no one reaches out to you.

These kids are carrying their own pain and struggles. It is not their job to fix yours. You are responsible for you!

If you want to have a friend, be a friend first. Stop expecting everyone else to take your pain away. It doesn’t work that way. People do want to help, but you are responsible for seeking help and then participating in your own recovery. You think you are tough? Overcoming things is tough! Hurting someone else out of your own insecurities, not so much.

Instead of acting out, seek help. Instead of making others pay for your pain, help eliminate someone else’s pain. You want to be famous? Be famous for something great! Most successful people have overcome some huge difficulties to get where they are. Choose life! For yourself, for your classmates. Choose love, be love, give love.

We want to help. Turn to your guidance counselors, go to the hospital and ask for help, or find a church that can support you. We love you. It is not too late. Change your life for the better and then help to change someone else’s life for the better. God loves you and so do I.

Sincerely,
I was bullied too