Shy, Passive, Intelligent, Average, Un-Athletic, Hard-Worker, and Awkward.

Losers from Everynone on Vimeo.


Take the 2:31 out of your life and watch this video. Then take the next 2:31 and think about your own situation now and the childhood moments that you still carry in the back of your mind.....the one where some older kids made fun of that outfit you wore the first day of school, the one when you tried to sit down at a table that was empty except for 2 kids talking and they told you they didn't want losers like you at their table in front of your entire class, or after school you wanted to play some pick-up basketball and you watched as kid after kid went to each team and then it just stopped, they didn't need anymore then 10.


 But instead of just walking away you ask if you can just stay and alternate in if they don't mind, after some laughing the captain points over towards where a group of girls are all talking and says to stand over there. As you excitedly start walking over, thinking about how relieved you are to finally have someone just leave you be for once and you realize that the girls are laughing, and now they're looking at you. What's going on? The captain, one of the most popular guys in school just told me I could stand over here, i'm playing in a little right? 


A yell comes across the court, "hey loser, after we finish up this game let us know how cheerleader tryouts go!"  Excitement and relief turn into confusion and embarrassment, your pace picks up as you just try and get out of sight before they see your face, they can't see you like this, they just can't it'll get even worse, I can't do this anymore, why even bother?


 Every person at the school knows what a loser I am and i'm supposed to be the guy eating lunch by himself in the bathroom, reading a book alone in an empty classroom when you see all the other kids going out to grab some food together, playing catch outside, just hanging out talking to the girls in their class....why can't someone just let me stand with them, they don't even have to talk to me, i'll be quiet, if I ever get the chance, i'm promising myself right now that i'm not going to mess it up by talking! 


Now whether your flashback put you in the position of the hunter or the huntee you need to realize how serious the situation has become nowadays. This isn't something that you tell your kid to just brush it off and man up! You can't just ignore it your whole life, you shouldn't have to either, you don't deserve to be treated that way. 


I feel it's my duty to speak out because like many of you out there i've been on both ends of the spectrum. When your having to deal with the stress of being bullied on top of the everyday complications and pressue that kids and young adults feel the world really becomes a dark place. I've never once told a friend, relative or any of my family how much it hurt, it was my problem to deal with. I wanted to make my father proud of me, he'd be so disappointed if he saw me just walking away pitifully while the vultures laughed at me, not standing up for myself, not being tough.


There are so so so so many feelings that are bouncing around when your going through puberty that sometimes it can look like you have a damn split personality. Mood swings become more and more noticeable and freequent, the depression starts showing enough that others see it, feels harder and harder to be around people and it just seems like your the only one. Everyone else looks happy, the way you feel is embarrassing so you don't want to really bring it up to anyone. 


All of this is typical stuff, lots and lots and lots of kids have felt, acted, talked, thought, about every single situation more then once. The thing is, they need to know that there IS somewhere they can go and talk openly and freely, there IS someone that's not going to judge them, they NEED to feel comfortable enough that they can get those things upsetting them or holding them back off their chest. 


Kids these days deal with problems that we probably never even dreamed that was something they'd be thinking about before their damn near 20, or at least out of high school. That's where its important for parents to be close enough that your kids know you are there NO MATTER WHAT, there is nothing they are going to do that's going to make you stop loving them, PERIOD. But no so close that you make their lives even harder then it already is. And if you see someone that seems like they're hurting, maybe they don't want to sit down and tell a stranger all about it but just being a friend by saying hi would make the world of a difference. You'd be surprised what a smile can do for someone that feels no one cares and they are all alone.


Help when you can, be there when you can, listen when you can.....it matters.