Safe Space Kits//Day 13

Another boring day. Applied to a billion jobs since I basically have lost all hope of being hired for the job I interviewed for. Tomorrow is the last day, and although I figure I will call on Friday just to see...ok well strike that. I called just now, and apparently they are STILL in the hiring process because they "aren't sure where they are going with that position yet". Uh....great. But since I cannot wait around on my laurels for that, I will continue to apply to other jobs, and send out my grad school applications as planned, especially now that there is no set date for that job. Awesome. This job search just gets shittier and shittier as time goes on.

But at least I am starting to get all my other financial matters in order, so that is something. But in non-whiney news, today I am showcasing another great charity! I really have no set time period for when I will post these, they kind of just fall into my lap, but I am very happy to be able to do so.

Today's charity, very apropos for National Spirit Day, is Safe Space Kits from GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network). I learned about this organization while watching whatever the name of that new The View- like show on CBS today (don't laugh, I was eating lunch and there was NOTHING else on TV, and these ladies are way less annoying and stupid than the ones on the real View. Not that I will ever be watching it again). They discussed how they were all wearing purple today (me too!) to raise awareness for the recent wave of teen suicides due to bullying (while it has mainly been anti-gay bullying, I think it is important to stop ALL forms of bullying in our schools) and some guy that is on the show The Closer talked about the Safe Space Kits.

The kits, only $20 per school, comes with some stickers that you can put on the school doors, posters, and a guide book for educators about how they can be an ally to LGBT students and how to help stop bullying. Basically, once a school has a kit and teachers and staff willing to help, they will put up these stickers and posters, and kids that are being bullied or having a tough time know they can come to those teachers for advice, their only little "safe space".

Of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students in school, nearly 9 out of every 10 stated that they had been verbally harassed at school, and over 40% said that they had been physically attacked. High school and teenage years are already a terrible enough time without adding the extreme amounts of bullying that kids are facing. I was bullied a bit in elementary school for being a "nerdy" type kid, but oddly enough, as I got older, that actually became a kind of cool thing. After all, the smart kids are the ones that others will turn to when they need help on schoolwork. Mine never got too bad, and I always had a pretty big and steady friend base, so I was lucky. Plus, just being a smart kid wasn't really enough of a reason for people to bully me to this degree.

What I like best about the kits is that it isn't asking anyone to change their beliefs or opinions. It's not saying that all of a sudden the school is completely "for" gay rights; the school is just saying that bullying, of any form, will NOT be tolerated because everyone deserves to have a safe, comfortable learning environment. And if that can happen for just $20? All the better.


DAY 13
I haven't really been hurt by anyone recently, so I decided to write a letter to someone who has hurt me a whole lot relatively recently (and I'm sure you all know who that is)

[ExEffect],

While sometimes I desperately wish I could hate you, the truth is I am quite grateful that you turned out to be a supreme douchebag. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I cried over you, while we were together and then we you decided I wasn't human enough to break up with in a proper fashion. I gave up EVERYTHING for you- my home, my friends, way more money than I care to remember, my education. I was willing to move to wherever the hell your dumb little heart desired, forsaking any plans or goals that I might have had for my life, for you. Texas? Done. Louisiana? I'm there. The freaking moon? Sure. I would've found any sort of job or studied anywhere for you.

At 22, I was willing to let you completely govern my life, something I have never let anyone (including my parents) do. I was an extension of you, slowly losing grips on my own individual identity. Perhaps you realized this time and the breakup was your way of letting me go and have my own life.

But you're too much of a self-centered asshole to think about anyone but yourself to have done that.

A REAL man would have had the guts to pick up the damn phone, the same one that I called and texted daily for A MONTH with no answer, and have uttered a 30-second breakup. If freaking Joe Jonas could do that, so could you. You could have texted a bunch of words, or responded to my email, anything. ANYTHING. But you chose to ignore it (for 7 months+ now). Much like the way you ignore ALL of the problems in your life until someone else takes charge to solve them for you.

You may be 24 years old, but you are nowhere near a man yet. Stop for a minute and take your head out of your ass and put the pipe down long enough to take a good, hard look at your life and where you're headed. You still have a chance to make it better. Not because I care, but because you should.

-Much Better Off