I do have one connection to this story and it involves a girl who was, I would not say bullied but who felt useless and like she didn't belong just as Melinda felt in Speak. Sadly for this girl she did not have the same strength as Melinda and was not able to save herself and she resorted to drugs. It all started in elementary school. All of the girls in our grade made all of the sports teams, we all had nice clothes and were all interested in basically the same things. But there was one girl in particular who never made any teams, her parents were in a messy divorce and she felt as if there was no one there for her. This girl was one of my best friends but I am sad to say that I didn't do anything about it at the time. I didn't tell her that it was okay to speak out. I don't think anyone did really as no one really knew what she was going through . Both her mother and father were heavily involved with their boyfriend/girlfriends. She didn't feel as if anyone cared about her, when in reality we all loved her to pieces but I guess we didn't show her how much we cared.
As elementary school began to finish this girl could not keep her emotions bottled up any more and she was tired of trying in her life, just as Melinda was during the winter. The only difference between Melinda and this girl is that Melinda had this certain strength in her that helped her get through this tough time and this girl just gave up. She could not take it anymore and she began doing drugs, hanging out with the wrong crowd of friends, not caring about her self respect, skipping school and getting in trouble with the law. I lost one of my best friends, she was such a nice girl, the girl with the biggest heart and she still is, it's just now she is so heavily involved with drugs that I lost her. If I had one wish it would be to go back in time and to tell her that it is okay for her to speak out and to tell her that I care and that I want to hear what she has to say. Her life is ruined because she didn't have anyone who told her they care, because she didn't speak and look for guidance from the friends she didn't know she had. Lucky for Melinda she had Mr. Freeman and David to give her guidance. This girl had none that she knew about, if only she had the same strength that Melinda had she would not be ruining her life, she would come back to us. I miss her like crazy and it is not fair that because of the past she is ruining her future, it is not fair that because of not feeling like she could speak and talk to anyone that she is where she is today. It is not fair that her life is being destroyed before it has even begun.
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ReplyDeleteI’m quite sure I know the girl you’re talking of. Towards the beginning of last year I used to talk to her. It’s unbelievable to think she’s texted me my homework, that we’d worked on a project together, that there were days she sat with my friends and I at lunch. Although I hadn’t known her very well, I can’t help but wish I’d done something. Over the course of the ninth grade I watched her begin to lose her innocence, her care for school, for her life. Now I see the pictures, I hear about the drugs she takes, the laws she breaks, just hoping, like Melinda, she’ll be able to find her inner strength, her true friends, and come to the realization life is better when you better yourself.
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