Member-only story
Women Can Heal the World
But first, they have to unravel themselves.
When I was in middle school, I rode the bus everyday. In Texas, school started in August and the buses didn’t have air conditioning. By the time we arrived at school, everyone was hot, cranky, and ready to move inside to cool off.
Except for my nemesis — Becky.
She took great delight in tormenting me about my nerdy glasses, my frizzy hair, and my crooked teeth. I dreaded riding on the bus because it was so painful.
One day, on the ride home, I found a note in my backpack. It was from Becky and it quoted a popular song by the Steeler Wheelers.
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”
Shame flooded my body and my world shrank to the words on the paper. As soon as the bus stopped, I jumped off and ran home. It wasn’t until I reached the safety of my bedroom that the floodgate opened.
Everything Becky had ever said to me, taunted me, or bullied me came flooding back. The emotional pain was excruciating and I began hitting my pillow to release it. I actually believed those cruel words and felt as if my world was ending.
It was only after the storm passed that I sat up and looked at the note again.
