Thanksgiving and Some Other Updates

Hey guys!

I hope everyones Thanksgiving was good! Mine was busy but fun. We had a family reunion on my dad's side and it was great to see everyone! We normally have about 25 to 30 people at our family get togethers but this time we had about 55 or so. It was a lot of fun and the day after Thanksgiving we had a reptile rescue come visit us! We got to pet an alligator named Tuesday who was the sweetest thing ever, pet an albino python, a bearded dragon and tortoise. We also saw (through cages) a gila monster and a rattle snake. 


Tonight I have a Sign Language performance down in Peoria so that should be fun! However I'm wearing a dress and I have a feeling I am going to be FREEZING! Ha-ha. 


I had to do a presentation yesterday in my Career and College Success class about my beliefs, goals and values. I talked a lot about how I want to help end bullying and help others going through hard times to know that they are not alone. I told them how even if I was able to let one person feel less alone in this world I would be happy. By the end of the presentation my teacher and few other students was close to tears and when the teacher called for compliments, a boy raised his hand and told me that he loved that I had a blog for people with life threatening and chronic illnesses to read because his brother has a terminal illness and he often feels alone in the world. Another boy raised his hand who has a sever stuttering problem; and he thanked me for mentioning how even using the word 'retard' is a form of bullying without even knowing it. By the end of the comments, I was close to tears. I talked about my favorite quote "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is facing some type of battle." and in that class period I had learned about two personal battles that my classmates were facing and I felt honored that they felt comfortable enough to tell me about them in front of the whole classroom. I hope now they know that they are not alone.


Hope and Love,
Becca

Doctor Office Bully

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Not a lot has happened lately, but I do have a story that I’d like to share with you all.

Last Friday I went to my allergist to get my allergy shots; and I took a seat across from a boy and his mom and sat beside the brother. I was looking at my phone when another boy and his mom walked into the doctor’s office and headed for the front desk. The boy who just walked in had braces on both his legs and his voice sounded a bit different. I have seen him before so I said hi and gave them a wave and they started to talk to the nurse at the front desk, signing in and all that. The nurse told them they could go to one of the rooms and wait for the doctor, so they walked past the other two boys, their mom and I once more to get to the room. The boy sitting across from me starting to laugh, now I’m not sure if the boy walking by heard or not; but I hope that he didn’t. The boy sitting beside me, the brother asked him, “What’s so funny?” and I couldn’t help but smile at the tone of voice he used with his younger sibling, clearly trying to get a message across. The boy across from me told his brother and mom about how the boy who walked by reminded him of a boy in his class who was in a wheelchair. He then went on to explain how the boy in his class has a “gay voice.” (Whatever THAT means.) And that he and his friend were sitting there during his presentation; laughing. I was shocked by the fact that his boy seemed to be bragging about the fact that he was making fun of the boy at his school, and the boy who had just walked by. I looked over at the mom, expecting her to do something. Not looking up from her magazine she asked, “What did the teacher say?” And the boy replied: “Nothing. My friend was laughing at my reaction and I was laughing at his so there wasn’t a need to stop us.” A rocket scientist isn’t needed to figure out that that is NOT what those two boys were laughing about. But apparently the mom thought it was perfectly okay for her son to make fun of kids and be a bully because he continued to talk and she never once told him to stop it. I’m not sure what appalled me more, the things the boy was saying or the fact that the mom sat there and laughed with him. I wanted to say something, but I knew that if I did; the mom most certainly wouldn’t back me up and the last thing I wanted to do was start a huge fight in the middle of the doctors’ office. So I looked up from my phone and gave the boy the sternest and most disgusting look I have probably given anyone before in my life and just shook my head at him. That made him stop talking. When my mom came to pick me up that day, I was almost in tears as I told her the story; it wasn’t until later that night that I started to cry about it. What the boy and mom did was horrific and cruel, but it also made me realize that if that boy can’t even go to the doctor’s office without being made fun of, I can’t even begin to imagine what he goes through on a daily basis at school. I would just like to take this blog post to remind you all that words are powerful and they can cause so much pain and suffering in someone’s life. For all the parents reading this, take the time to sit down with your kids and teach them that laughing and teasing someone just because they are different is never okay. Encourage not just your kids but the people in your life to be a kind, understanding and loving person because no one deserves to be made fun of. No one.

Love,

Becca 

Making A Change

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't written in a while, I have been really busy! Easter was good, we played a lot of games and we put up a big water slide in the backyard. It was a lot of fun!
 I also had my Senior Prom! That was also amazing! Prom for me, when I was younger; was something that I never thought I'd get to see. I struggled to live my whole life, but now I am finally living! We had dinner at my house where my dad cooked steaks and my siblings served my friends and I dinner. It was absolutely wonderful! For most teens Prom is fun and cool, but to me; it was a milestone. Infect my whole Senior year has been a milestone for me. I was not supposed to make it this far, but I have. I believe in miracles and I know that they happen. I want to thank everyone who has helped me along on my journey. You all mean so much to me and I would not be where I am today without your love, support and care. Thank you!
On another note, every year I go to my sister's 6th grade class and talk to them about acceptance, kindness, love and not being so judgmental and mean to each other. I bring my oxygen tank, my pills, and inhalers, breathing treatment, pictures of me after surgery and an Ipod. (I perform a song in Sign Language to them)  I talk to them about my health and how some day I will need a heart-lung transplant. I talk about not being able to play outside when it was hot out, I talk about never being picked for the soccer team at recess and I talk about how disability helped me find my two favorite hobbies; Sign Language and writing.
 I also talk to them about how even though being sick is hard on both my spirit and my body; it can and has been just as hard; if not harder, on me emotionally. I explain to them that it's hard to miss 2 or 3 months of school to begin with, but to come back and not have kids be as understanding as they could've been was even harder. I talked about how kids would give me dirty looks in the hallways of 8th grade when I had to wear oxygen at school. I talked about all the comments about my scar that I have gotten this year. I told them about a man in San Francisco who called me a spoiled brat for sitting in a stroller in 6th grade because I was too sick to walk. I explained to them that you can never know someone's story endless you get to know them and ask questions; but be sensitive about it.
 
I invited the kids to ask me questions, whether about my health, a time when I was bullied or for advice. While I stood there in front of the three 6th grade classes, I felt empowered. These kids were opening up to me. A girl asked me what I would die if someone made fun of the way I dressed, and I could tell that she was asking what she should do.
A girl raised her hand to tell me that the shirt I was wearing fit perfectly with my message. I was wearing a shirt that said 'It's what's on the inside that counts.' "You are showing us to look inside the person and not just on the outside." She hit it right on the head. I had explained to them a lot of people have a hard time when it comes to understanding my health because I look so healthy. I wanted them to realize that appearances can be and are often times deceiving. 
There was a time during my talk with the kids when I told them that there wa no excuse for bullying. I told them that nothing ever made it right to hurt someone. I then asked them how many of them had been picked on at least once in their life time, everyone raised their hands. "So if you all know the pain of what it feels like to be made fun and laughed at, why do we go and cause that same pain on someone else?" I asked them.
At the end of my presentation I perform a song to Sign Language to them. In year's past I have done the song 'Don't Laugh At Me.' This year I did 'Loser Like Me.' from the cast of Glee. Both songs are about bullying, accepting people for who they are and loving one another despite our differences.
I always look forward to the end of year because I know that I am going back to my sister's 6th grade where I can share my story and teach kids how to be more understanding of those people who are different. I feel that by me going into these classrooms, I am letting the kids who are picked on and bullied that there is someone out there who accepts them for who they are.

Before I left to go back to school, I had a girl come up to me and ask if she could hug me. I told her yes and soon a few other girls came up to hug me as well, several of them being on the bigger side. I had connected with them. I was made fun of for my looks and I have a feeling that they have had a tough time with theirs. I also had a girl come up to me and show me a scar she had on her arm and how hard it was when people made comments about it to her.
My little sister is also in my sister's 6th grade class and she has a friend whose mom e-mailed my mom to tell me how touched her daughter was by my presentation that day. She went on to say that her daughter had no idea about all the things I had been through and how inspired she was by me. It made me smile to know that even if I hadn't changed all of the minds in that classroom, I had at least changed one and that is a wonderful place to start.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Love,
Becca

Kids and Kindness

Hi Everyone,

I grew up in a time where the nice kids out numbered the mean kids. I grew up in a time (not too long ago.) where elementary school was a fun place where everyone was friends with everyone. It seems now though, that my little sister does not live in a time where kids are nice to one another anymore.

It has occured to me how mean kids can be and how mean they really are. It's moved beyond making fun of kids for glasses. Instead its clique of girls or boys who pick on anyone just because they are "different." While I expect it from high schoolers who think they know it all, it is heartbreaking to me to hear that it is happening in elementary school where kids are so impressionable at their young age.

When I grew up there were kids who would make comments about me or make fun of me. But my friends out numbered the bullies. But I realize that there are kids who have no friends to lean on because people in general (and the kids) have become so judgemental of one another. There is no acceptance or understanding for those who are different. I feel that one of the reasons I'm here is so I can make a change in the world. And I think one of the changes I want to make is how people treat one another. From age 2 all the way up age 100. No one should ever treat another humanbeing as if their feelings don't matter. No one should ever treat someone else as less than or un-worthy. No one is better than another person. No one.

I want to ask all the parents out there to sit down with their kids, wether they are 5 or 17. Talk to them about bullying. Tell them how much it hurts people and tell them that they need to stand up to those who bully others. Tell them that if they see a kid who is "different" that they need to be kind to that person.
There is a girl at my school who everyone makes fun of. She is a bit odd and I think maybe she has some emotional problems due to her homelife and what not. But I always say hi to her and give her a smile because I may be the one person that day who is kind to her. I may be the one person who gives her a smile and lets her know that I accept her and care for her. Whenever I see this girl I remember this quote: "Be kinder than ncessary for everyone you meet is facing some type of battle." I don't know what goes on in other peopel's lives, so I try to be as understanding and loving of people as I can be.

To the kids who are reading this blog. . . be kind to one another. Is it truly that hard to accept others for who they are? What gives you the right to cause someone else pain? How would you feel if someone was talking horribly about you, or being cruel to you? 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'


Be Kind and Understanding,
Becca

P.S. I'd like to ask you guys to share a story about bullying. Could be one that happened to you or someone you know. Share the story and get awarness out there that bullying needs to stop. We can make a difference, one story at a time.