As for my mother, she continued working because she wanted to, but the college offered her a better-paid position coordinating facilities staff.
And I finally understood something my father used to tell me.
A person’s worth isn’t measured by their clothes, their job, their appearance, or how loudly they can intimidate others.
Sometimes the person everyone overlooks is the one holding an entire community together.
And sometimes the people who laugh the loudest are hiding something they desperately don’t want anyone to discover.
I still wear my bright yellow hair.
I still remember Vanessa’s laughter echoing through that bathroom.
But whenever I think about that morning, I don’t remember the humiliation first.
I remember my mother’s words.
“You shouldn’t have needed to know.”
Because kindness should never have to prove its value before it receives respect.
