It’s almost November and our resident teen anti-bullying crusader, Alyssa, has been working hard visiting schools and other key venues to spread her kindness message. I’ll let her tell you about a special Ability Awareness event she recently attended in Laguna Beach, California, and how it impacted her.
Hello Everyone,
Last weekend, I was asked to read my book, The Purple Marble, and speak at Ability Awareness Project’s annual event in Laguna Beach. This event was to unite and honor those kids and teens that have taken their lives due to bullying. I was so shocked and saddened that so many kids have taken their lives due to bullying and this was only a very small handful of them. Faces of kids and teens were placed on cardboard white figure stands with their sad bullying stories beneath them.
Reading each one became more tragic as I moved from one to the next. I couldn’t read all of them because there were so many and it was emotionally disturbing. Ability Awareness Project put on such an incredible and impactful event and Shadi Pourkashef played Chopin’s, “Funeral March” on the hour every hour, where silence fell on the crowd.
When I see how many people as young as 8 years old have taken their lives, it not only saddens me but pushes me forward and harder to try to do more with my book and mission of creating kinder schools. I have spoken to kids who have tried to commit suicide and lived through their terrible experience and I just want to hug them and say, “ See there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
I wish during their dark times, they could’ve reached out to someone who could let them know there will be light again and to not empower the bullies by letting them get to you. There will always be bullies or unkind people out there, so it is how we react to them that makes them continue or not continue to bully us.
Stand strong, know it is not about you, and unite as friends or strangers against them. I know for some, that is easier said than done. It is so rewarding when I hear a friend or stranger say to me, “Thank you for your inspiring words, you’ve helped me see that it’s not personal and the bully must be hurting too to do this.” Although I took away a lot of sadness in my heart from the event, it’s a learning experience and it will make me push forward to do more for this cause. Thank you.
Thank you, Alyssa, for sharing this moving and emotional story with us. We are so proud of your efforts and love your kind and giving heart.
Alyssa Antoci is the fourteen-year-old author of an anti-bullying children’s book called The Purple Marble. She speaks regularly in schools as an anti-bullying advocate. She also has a charity called Just a Little Cloth Children’s Charity, where they donate fancy dresses to underprivileged girls because every young girl deserves to feel beautiful. Follow her on Instagram @alyssabantoci.