Back to School with Brooklyn || Stand Up To Bullying || BeYOUtiful

I've been saving this post for back to school for a while because it's something that I think is a great reminder as we send our kids away from our homes for hours each day! Brooklyn is the daughter of my dear friends. A while ago, I saw some posts on Facebook about Brooklyn being bullied in school. My heart broke. I work with Brooklyn during her yearly family photos. And I see her taking care of her siblings at her dad's softball games. I also hang out with her family a few times a year, too.  I say this because I know kids are different at school, but I also know this kid is a GOOD KID. She's kind, helpful, mature, genuine.... the list goes on with her.  Literally just the epitome of the kind of daughter I hope to raise. So to hear that she was being bullied broke my heart.I reached out to Brooklyn to do this shoot with me because I wanted her to feel beautiful for an evening. I wanted to remind her that she has support in all kinds of places, and people rooting for her always. I grabbed Emily, my go to makeup artist, and she was completely on board to offer Brooklyn makeup for her session to help her feel extra confident! I loved this evening. I loved connecting with Brooklyn on a deeper level and be able to get her insider perspective on what it feels like to be bullied.Brooklyn has always been a girl with friends. She had a group of girl friends who she was always with, until one decided to push her out of her circle. It turned into some horrible bullying, and unfortunately, peer pressure got the best of a few of her other friends. Things went back and forth on social media between the girls who were doing the bullying, but Brooklyn was not allowed on social media and missed most of it at first. But then she would hear about it from others. Brooklyn talked with teachers and her parents, but despite a zero tolerance policy in the Cache County School District, little was done to prevent the bullying or punish the bullies. Brooklyn started dreading school, even feeling physically sick when she had to go. And then one day, there, on the front of the school windows, was a death threat written on the windows with her name on it. And still, VERY LITTLE was done in terms of consequences to the perpetrators. It completely SICKENS me that this is the school district my kids go to when the zero tolerance policy is not enforced because something like this, in my opinion, deserves a little more than a slap on the wrist. I can't even imagine being in Brooklyn's shoes and having to go to school on a daily basis with these girls who displayed far beyond acceptable behavior.The strength, tenacity, and courage Brooklyn showed by continuing at her school can be such an example to us all. If a young woman can have the courage to face her bullies on a daily basis, what can we have the strength to handle in our daily lives?I talked with Brooklyn during her session because I wanted to know what lessons she feels like she's learned from this awful situation. And I asked her some hard questions that she handled with grace and poise. Although Brooklyn obviously did not want to go through this, she was able to take some deep life lessons. She said this experience has helped her see people through a different lens - she notices when people are lonely, friendless, and down more than she used to. And she's more open to being friends with people who she herself may have written off in the past.  At home, she realizes how being the older sister to three younger siblings is more of a responsibility of being an example than she used to. And she realized that she is often the bully to her younger siblings, and is aware of changes she needs to make to rectify that. She has a new found passion for helping others who are being bullied to lift them in their trial and help them know they aren't alone. She even wants to start a club or organization for anti-bullying so other kids in the valley have a resource available to them when they go through similar experiences.I'm excited to see where Brooklyn takes her adventure as a freshman this year. She's already made the volleyball team and is enjoying that now. I know Brooklyn will be the definition of "bloom where you are planted." This kid has so much going for her. But I hope that this little blip in in life story can be done this year - I hope that she knows and feels how beautiful she is inside and out. And I hope that we can learn from her courage and strength.Parents - as we send our kids back to school, let's be reminded that our kids need constant guidance. We need to continue to grow our relationship and trust with them so that they will come to us with things that we otherwise will know nothing about. Let's remind them that hurtful words are just as bad as physically hurting someone. And let's do better when our kid is the one doing the bullying to teach them how much harm it causes and to not be quick to save them in their mistake. I think we all have a memory or two from our school years that we acted in a way we would like to forget about - kids will always do this. But let's make sure they have the confidence in themselves so they don't feel the need to bring others down.

Be - YOU - ti - ful!