La La Land Mommy: Everyone Isn’t Going To Like Me….But It’s Okay Though
Good morning. I have decided to participate in Nablopomo. If you don’t know what Nablopomo is it’s a list of prompts that are given to bloggers to help them spark ideas. The one I’ve chosen to write is what is the most important lesson you learned as a child and who taught it to you. So this is technically day two of Nablopomo for me.
As a kid I have always wanted to make friends. I was always taught to be nice and polite. So of course that is how I lived my life and that’s how I continue to live my life. Well most of the time. I was that kid on the playground and in school who tried to make friends with everyone because I just wanted everyone to be my friend. I would go up, introduce myself, and usually after that I would play with whomever I was talking to. The first time I realized that everyone wasn’t going to like me and wasn’t always going to be my friend I was in kindergarten. I was on the playground and I went up to a group of girls who I usually played with and wanted to play with them like I always did. They decided they didn’t want to play with me that they because suddenly I wasn’t pretty enough. I was a tomboy, didn’t wear dresses often, and didn’t mind getting dirty. I guess they didn’t like that cause after that they ran off. I of course was heartbroken and I went and told the teacher. They told me to just go find some other kids to play with and that there was nothing they can do cause they can’t force anyone to play with me. So when I got home I told my mom about it. That’s when she had to let me know that no matter how sweet, pretty, and nice I am that sometimes people aren’t going to like me. That they don’t even have to have a reason not to like me. Needless to say I was shocked. I thought all you had to do was be nice and everyone would be your friend. I was sad that that turned out not to be true. I still struggle with this till this day but I am becoming more comfortable with it. It is a tough lesson to learn that everyone isn’t going to like me. It’s not like I expect everyone to like me. It’s just I have a problem with people not liking me and I know I haven’t given them a reason to. But as I get older I’m realizing that it is totally okay that someone doesn’t like me for whatever their reasons are. I am realizing that whatever their reasons are it really has nothing to do with me if they don’t want to make the effort. It still hurts me when friendships end for whatever the reasons are but I will cherish them while I have them.
I am now trying to teach my kids this. They have that trait as well. They want everyone to like them. I don’t want them to learn the lesson the way that I did. When they went to middle school and high school I let them know that people who were their friends in elementary school may not be their friends in middle school or high school. I wanted them to be prepared for their relationships to change. I try to prepare them for the things that are coming. I don’t want them to learn the lessons that I did. But I of course can’t protect them from everything. They are still going to have to learn about friendships themselves. I just want them to understand that everyone isn’t going to like them or want to be their friend. It was really hard for me to learn. I am happy to be finally getting to where it doesn’t bother me as much.
What’s a hard lesson that you had to learn?
