That's incredible and it's really amazing how small little acts of kindness and being courageous and just can impact someone. Especially when the clouds are darkest that any ray of light no matter how slight illuminates all that much brighter. Kudos to you and yours for raising her right but most importantly your daughter for reaching out. The closest situation I've ever personally experienced was in college I knew some girls who went to LCU in Pineville. I've never been there, city boy from New Orleans, but I talked to them regularly online in the early stages of the internet. Hell I think phone cards were a thing back then for long distance telephone calls. Anyway, once cell phones became a thing and you got free LD on the weekends I met a couple of their friends and they told me about this girl who was kind of quiet but super sarcastic and funny. I talked to her a couple times when they were all together and she acted like I was the worst. These were like these super devout girls and I'm like making edgy jokes but still quite respectful. Anyway, she eventually let's my friends know to tell me she wants me to call her sometime. So I do, and we'd talk and eventually she'd get really uncomfortable or really mad at me or really go after me and she'd hang up on me. Couple weeks later she would let my friends know it's okay if I call again. This went off and on for like years, with long gaps in between, she was just very distrustful. I'd been told eventually by my friend that she had some really bad stuff happen to her with her very first boyfriend because I was done. It wasn't fun getting accused and hung up on. So I'd still call. Eventually we all went out separate ways and like 8+ years pass. I get a random message on Facebook or MySpace or one of those things and it was the girl who used to hang to on me. She's like you probably don't remember me cause you talked to so many girls blah blah blah (I totally remembered her) but she needed to let me know something. She was about to get married. It was a guy who was a minister and had a personality a lot like mine but much less of a heathen (ha) but he was a really good guy. And she told me she'd been raped by her first boyfriend and it was just not good. She didn't believe guys wanted anything but sex because he was so nice and good before they got together but then she saw what he really was like and so she would never trust guys again. She said she knew she was brutal on me, but she couldn't get past her fears, but she realized I kept trying and I never actually even met her in person she was too scared to ever hang out or meet me so when her husband approached her eventually she said yes because she thought maybe he's like me he's actually just nice. I don't claim any sort of credit. That's all I was was nice to the girl and she was fun as hell to talk to with her wit and sarcasm so it wasn't like I was doing charity work. But that's one of the best things anyone has ever said or done for me. Eventually a few years ago she came to NOLA and we met and hung out. That was a good hug. She and her husband have kids and she actually has adopted a couple more and she volunteers as a crisis call counselor on the suicide holiness. Just a great damn person. Wish I could highfive your daughter. Simple acts of nastinesscan leave scars but simple acts of kindness can be a special kind of salve, I believe.
My younger daughter is very interesting in that she has never cared what was cool or popular. She has always tended to be a trendsetter, instead. When she found out what was happening to this boy, Connor, she refused to let him get in trouble. She didn't care at all what the accusing girls thought about her. And she told them that. She reads non-stop and has a Tik-Tok book review account that is starting to get her noticed, in that authors and publishers are sending her pre-published books and outlines for feedback and suggestions. So, maybe she will end up being an influencer. This is her proof of life picture from after she arrived at school one day last week.
