I promise, you don’t need to be Mormon to appreciate this video. In fact, every child, teenager, adult… everyone should watch it.
As an amateur filmmaker I found some of their choices unusual– some extremely slow awkward moments, very little music– and at 10 minutes and 24 seconds it’s nearly three times as long as most Mormon Messages. But the final result left us all in tears.
I was also surprised by the conversations in my kitchen after watching the video. Despite all anti-bullying assemblies, the lectures and posters in the hallways, they see bullying at school every day. They’ve felt the sting of cruelty themselves. And while they don’t take part in mocking others (and I believe my kids) they all felt like they could reach out to others a little bit more. I think kids (and adults) often feel so insecure themselves they don’t recognize their power to lift others. We are all powerful. We can all do great good.
Our conversation ended when I had to drive Xander to school, we were almost to the high school when we saw a boy we pass almost every day. He looks a little angry, he looks a little strange, he looks a little lonely.
“Let me out here,” Xander said, “I’ll walk the rest of the way with J___ today.”
Hot Hot JJ
Yes, I agree. That was fantastic. I will pin it to pinterest in hopes that one day when I have school aged children they can watch and learn.
xoxo
Alison Moore Smith
Oh, my goodness. Your son’s reaction was priceless. I can’t wait to show it to my daughter, Monica. She played Melissa, the bullied girl, in the video. Reading the amazing comments and seeing the feedback all over has been so uplifting.
Thank you for sharing your story!
Russell Family
What a lovely story!
This makes me tear up so easily right now. Months after being severely bullied (stabbed, choked, kicked, & threatened) our 6-year old son is still coping with the anger and frustration. Xander should know what he’s doing to help someone has a huge ripple effect on the families of these children as well. Bless you!