“I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets or like the capillary oozing of water, which, if given time, will rent the hardest monuments of pride.”
Today, I was working another day at an urban city school. I am practicing to be a school social worker and I have the privilege of doing a character building group with several nine year old girls.-William James
The theme of the group lesson today was "dealing with disappointment." Each of the kids shared how they deal with disappointment... from going outside... to taking a bubble bath... to reading a book... to playing a board game with their mom.
One of the activities I had planned during group time was to have the kids anonymously write on a slip of paper something that they were going through that made them feel disappointed.
Each child took the time to write their struggle. I collected and redistributed the slips of paper so that the girls got an anonymous struggle to read aloud and offer a suggestion on how to deal with the disappointment.
This one sweet girl Janella in the group read the anonymous slip of paper aloud. Janella read, "I feel like I have failed at happyness, because I moved to this school and do not have any friends." Janella somehow knew exactly whose story this was, Amiah. She quickly told Amiah that she knew what it was like to be the new girl in school too. She spoke to Amiah "When I was the new girl in school I was bullied and felt lonely too. I want to tell Amiah that I want to be her friend, so that she doesn't feel lonely anymore."
Soon all the girls in the group followed Janella's lead; they all exchanged phone numbers and promised to be friends at school.
At this moment in time, I felt that I was truly making a difference. It occurred to me that in order to change the world, I didn't have to have big plans or big successes. All I have to do is tiny, invisible acts of love that open the door for others to love. I felt a sense of pride today that I opened the door of friendship for these young girls. I imagine and hope that many years down the road Janella and Amiah are still friends, because I provided an environment for them to be open and honest with one another.
*Names have been changed to keep the information confidential.
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