I know this wasn’t published yesterday. But I cried as I watched it.
14 year old Jonah Mowry delivers a powerful testimonial of what it is like to live and choose to live as a bullied teenager.
Seven years ago, I would have found this video terribly sad, but now, today…. I view this 4:36 video with a different filter. I’m a mom… and this teen, this boy…. this child could be mine. And it breaks my heart.
His courage is worth watching.
Between this video and his twitter account, he has caught attention of some powerful people.
It is beautiful to see the joy it is giving him and the way it is buoying his spirits to know he is supported.
This video is garnering new comments every few seconds. As you can imagine, some are incredibly kind and supportive and others, well, as nasty as you would expect.
As I watched it, I found it hard to breathe. While I can remember the pain and insecurity of being his age, I’m now heavy under the weight of something else… the fear of that being my child. Will they come to me? Will I know what to say? Will my love and strength and the self-confidence I have taught them be enoughto carry them through?
There is also another video of him that has surfaced (with a clearer view of his scars) but in seemingly better spirits. It was apparently on his youtube channel initially, and then taken down. In it, he claims to have friends now….that kids at his school love him. If that is the case….good. If, in the months since he created the initial video, he has found some confidence, and doesn’t feel as alone, I consider this a good thing. It seems to me, because people love controversy, they are apt to call him a liar and claim his initial video was a fake. If (and I consider this a big if) his first video was a fake, he has a tremendous future as an actor.
That being said…. I lean towards believing him. It could be the mom in me. I’d prefer to give him a hug. And then give my small people a hug.
And remind them that I’m here for them. Always. Because I don’t want them to ever have a moment where they feel that alone. But, by GOD, if they do… I hope they come to the same conclusion Jonah did… that they have a MILLION reasons to be here. Well done, Jonah, well done…
