Guest Blogger, Linda F. Crawford is contributing today. Enjoy.
I've always heard that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me." You have heard that, too, right? Well, I beg to differ. Even in my elementary days, I knew something was wrong with that saying. I mean if words couldn't harm me, why did it hurt me so when someone called me Skinny Minnie or country girl? Why did it sting the very pit of my stomach when other kids made fun of me because I made all A's?
I skipped the 4th grade in school, well, not exactly skipped. I stayed in the 4th grade from August until November. Then I was promoted to the 5th grade, in the middle of the school year, I might add. But that’s a good thing, right? When the 5th graders wouldn't play with me, laughed at me, and said I didn't belong in their grade, why did that make my heart ache? When the other kids, the 4th graders, said I couldn't play with them anymore because I didn't belong, why did my eyes fill with tears, every time?
Those words hurt me. The kids didn't break my bones. They broke my spirit. They didn't throw sticks and stones at me. They threw words, hard, hateful words, and even as a 9- year-old, I knew I didn't believe that saying. It was a lie, an untruth, a deceiver, a heartbreaker, a suicide maker. Yes, at 9, I thought about walking out in front of a car or falling out of a very “tall” tree. I still marvel at how I made it through elementary school, but I did. Today, I have learned better. I know the importance of my words over other people and over myself. Words can kill or words can build. Are you murdering yourself with your own words? “I can’t do this. I’ll never be good at anything.” Are you murdering someone else with your words? “I don’t think you are college material.” What about these words instead? “I’ve got this. Whatever I do will prosper,” or “You’ve got this. I found you a tutor.” Psychological studies show that we are all products of what we say, whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, whether it’s to ourselves or whether it’s to others. So let’s cut to the chase. Be honest. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can definitely harm me.” Let’s change our words and change our lives. I mean, you want to be happy, right?
