Seeing Him Again

It's hard to put into words but seeing a lover from the past can bring about varying emotions, especially if the relationship ended on less than amicable terms.  This person that I am referring to is a man that I was involved with some twenty years ago. This was a time in my life when I was not sure how to effectively express my feelings to others. He was the exact opposite of me because he easily expressed and gave love. 

This cause a lot of tension in our relationship which caused him to act out in very unsafe ways. There were times when he would shake me to make me react. I simply did not know what to do or how to act. I did love him but I could not let the words pass my lips into space where he could hear. We broke up and then I was alone again. Fast forward to last week, I saw him again at a gas station of all places, I had stopped to fill up and he was there talking to the cashier. He was on his way out the door but when he saw me, he stopped and stood there. Our eyes locked and I was right back in the past, not able to express myself with words or actions.

I greeted the cashier and handed her my money. She clarified which pump I was using and I wished a good day. All the while he just stood there looking down at me with those dark chocolate eyes. I turned and walked out the door. Everything in me wanted to look back but I did not stop. Instead, I pumped my gas and left. All the while, I could feel his eyes on me. I have not stopped thinking of him and have dreamt of him twice since that meeting. If only I could see him once more. There is no guarantee that I would say all that I feel for him but no matter what, I would at least go to him to find myself in his loving arms once more.

Is There a Link between Bullying & School Shootings?

All too often after a school shooting, we hear things like "he was shy", "he didn't have friends" or "he was being bullied". These statements alone give pause and beg the question of whether situations at school are pushing children to plan school shootings. There will be some that will say that the two issues are not linked and in some cases, this could be true but when children do not build proper relationships or connections with their teachers and classmates, issues can a will arise.
Let us look at the way that parents real their child. This is in no way an attack but an examination. If parents are raising children in a home where abuse is present, racism and bigotry or practice, the child takes this same attitude to school.
Bullies use this information against students that may fit into a different race, social status or simply a person who seems able to be abused without making any noise. The practice becomes even more prevalent as these children grow into teens. This is when the pressure is turned up to the max. Middle school and high school are the worse for some because everyone is going through puberty. Some handle it with grace while others may find themselves dealing with acne and awkward growth sprouts in one area or another. It all depends on how others view these changes. If they are viewed as negative by other students, then the child will become withdrawn. Even if he or she tries to make themself "invisible", the bully sees all and exploits all for everyone to see.
Constant bullying day after day, week after week, for months, is bound to force a child to take action to protect him or herself. Think about it clearly, the child has told friends, teachers, administrators as well as parents about the bullying and nothing seems to be done about it. So much goes through the child's mind that he or she eventually snaps and decided that either he or she takes action or suffer the rest of high school at the hands of this bully. Everyone knows what's going on. As fellow classmates watch on, some laugh while others fear speaking up will cause him or her to become the new target, the bullied kid has something hidden inside his or her bookbag.
The child is not thinking clearly but operating on pure adrenaline. The gun is pulled out and people get hurt. Some of whom were innocent but yet watched on as their peer was being bullied. After everything has blown over, everyone is asking "why did he do it" or "why did they do it" when they already knew that this person or persons were suffering and being bullied relentlessly. Everyone is scrambling around to go to the child's home to see if there was something on the computer or a note explaining why but honestly, they already know why everything happened. All the truth is in the walls of that school, in those classrooms where no one lifted a finger to help a child who was suffering all alone. In these walls is where the link between bullying and school shootings lies.

Bullying in American Schools: Suggested Solution

Every day it has become a common thing to hear about a child dealing with being bullied. In some cases, the child has been beat, picked on constantly, has told the school officials about the problems and yet they do nothing to help the child. These children suffer daily and this affects them on so many levels where their performance suffers and in some worse cases, the child even contemplates or actually commits suicide.
A solution to consider is to send the accused bullies home to their parents permanently. Parents like to claim that they don't know that their child has been bullying others but parents know their children and how they have raised that child. They don't want to face the truth but how about this... why not have them to home school their child permanently to ensure that others do not have to deal with the rage and anger that this child is carrying around.
When parents realize that at least one of them will have to give up their career to raise that child then they will take action to ensure that the child no longer bullies anyone. A parent receives a call from a school administrator that their child has been bullying some other child for one reason or another. The parent has a "word" with the child then suddenly the problem has been "dealt" with and the school officials feel as if they have played their part in protecting the bullied child. This is not the case. There is such a thing as retaliation. The bully bides his time while everything seems to cool down. The bullied child has a false sense of safety during this time but the bully is gathering his forces and planning revenge. If a child is this evil then he or she definitely needs to be in counseling or removed from his home because something going on behind the scenes is causing this child to come to school and want to hurt and abuse others.
The goal here is not to make the child out to be a monster but to figure out what is driving the devious behavior. Send the child home to his or her parents and let them deal with the mental health of their child. It is not fair or safe to have other children to be exposed to such hatred and anger for no apparent reason.
This is not the only solution but one that will remove the bully from his or her victims. Parents must be held accountable for their children's actions. It's as simple as that. There may be some that feel that this too harsh a solution but what else is there to do because bullies cannot be monitored throughout the school day because bullying happens everywhere in the school especially when adults are too busy to notice. This interrupts the teaching and learning process. Changes need to go into effect so that more innocent children take the route of suicide because he or she felt that it was the only way to escape
a bully.