The Bullies Within

What if your childhood bullies were within your own family clan? Memories of old childhood wounds that you thought had been long locked away and forgotten, again coming to surface and making you feel some type of way. Mine, were triggered by “suggested friends” prompts right here on Facebook. Then, a meme saying “I Love You, send one back to me”. It was from a relative that I’ve had no contact with since those pubescent years of antagonizing, belittling, and just plain bullying. You ask yourself Why? What did I do besides exist on this earth? Was I really too proper, too “White”, too cute, or too loved? Because I wasn’t raised in the projects, did that make me unacceptable as family?

It can take years to stop asking those questions that garner feelings that made you feel small. Personal growth and healing gets you past the emotional scars left behind from childhood. You learn to accept that sometimes, kids don’t understand what they do. As an adult, you forgive what bullies probably don’t even remember... but, when it’s family it’s not as easy to forget.