Hello and welcome! This time we are doing things a little differently and we asked three different folks from the Youth for Christ office what their answer to the following question below would be (don’t worry…word of the month is still here!)
“If you could go back in time to when you were a young person and tell yourself something, what would it be?”
Rebecca
When I was a teen I was heavily bullied. I felt things strongly and self-harmed to express the pain and hurt I was feeling… so if I could go back I’d give her a big hug and stroke her hair and I’d tell her ‘you are doing great, you are none of the things you’re being been called, you’re loved by God and loved by your family’. But I’d encourage her to find coping methods that are healthy like crafting, creating, writing and running. I’d give her the love and comfort she needed, but also be like ‘come on and help yourself – you can do this!’.
Helping young people process tough times is still something that is pertinent today. Self-harm and negative coping patterns are still extremely common. However, when we work with young people, we are in a unique position to help them see other ways of coping and how Jesus may play a part in this too.
Nate
To know the difference between friendly banter and bullying. I was heavily bullied as a kid, and I never really understood the difference. I always thought it was friendly banter but looking back I’ve realised it wasn’t friendly banter… it was bullying and I should’ve done something about it.
In UK culture, banter is intertwined in friendships and we often take the mick out of our friends but so often these things can get bashed up and the lines between banter and bullying are blurred. It’s important for young people to think about the differences when people talk to them but also the words they use with others too.
Laura
I remember when I was around 15, I struggled a lot with comparison and that feeling of not being accepted, so I would regularly compare myself to people in my class and in my school and just constantly wanted to be like someone else. Perhaps that loud person in the class or popular girl in school or the smart person sat next to me. I did lots of things I actually didn’t want to do just so that people would notice me and I was afraid to be the real me really.
But by trying so hard to be someone else, I was losing my own identity in who I was. So, thinking back then I wish there was someone who told me “just be you and embrace who you are and try and rejoice in it because there’s only one you in the world.”
Encountering Jesus made a huge difference in my life and the way I saw myself, and I know I’m made for a purpose. There’s so much more you could do if you accept who you are and rejoice in it.
Identity is still such a relevant issue today for young people today as it’s something we all process as we grow up. We have such a key role in helping young people navigate this and have an opportunity to encourage them.
Word Of The Month:
‘era’ = a period of time defined by an activity, vibe or event. Thought to be partially inspired by Taylor Swift’s ‘eras’ tour where she includes all the eras of her music.
‘I’m in my nature era, I’m going for a walk in the park everyday’
‘Last year I was in my fitness era’