Reply #65: Thank you, Tsiyu

[njlib]

He really is a good kid and went through hell in 5th & 6th grade. He was the kid who got beat on every day, ate by himself in the cafeteria, and would burst into tears when I'd pick him up from the afterschool program. Up until 5th grade, he was confident and outgoing, but became unsure of himself and terrified of being ridiculed or ostracized. He used to cry and say "All I want is ONE friend. Why can't I just have ONE friend?" and I'm sitting her tearing up just thinking about those horrible years. 7th and 8th grade got better and by high school, he had plenty of friends and all of a sudden, everyone was very accepting. Those who weren't just left him alone. He even was involved in starting a gay/straight alliance club in high school.

Now he attends community college and is having the time of his life as a performing arts major. He loves being on stage and is the biggest ham you could imagine. His kindgarten teacher had said "One day, I'll be seeing him on Broadway" and nothing would make him happier! He's NEVER home because he's always out with his friends, so things have definitely gotten better. Anyone out there who's either experiencing this themselves or with their kids, just keep hanging in there....things will get better!

What I'm afraid of with all of this is that he'll go back to being that scared, introverted kid...that this will drudge up his middle school feelings.