Normally, I cannot stand school assemblies. Other than wasting class time, I don't see much point in them--either they're stressing the importance of academics or emphasizing just how destructive smoking, drinking and drugs are. Usually, it's a combination of the two. Sometime they try to mix it up and throw bullying into the mix, but pretty much every student in attendence knows that it's a load of bull and won't make a difference. The kids who smoke, smoke, the kids who drink, drink, the kids who do drugs, do drugs and the kids who fail, fail. It's been that way forever, long before anybody dreamed up these pointless assemblies, and no amount of pretty graphs or statistics is going to change that.
But the assembly on Monday morning was nothing like that.
This week at Needham High, we're having an event entitled "Own Your Peace/Piece Week." The clever name ties in with the theme of being at peace with yourself and contributing a piece to your community. It's corny, but this is school, so no shockers there. It's run by some obscure student-run suicide prevention support group that I honestly had no idea existed.
They kicked off the Monday morning assembly with peace/piece puns and explanations and a bunch of other information that most of us were incapable of absorbing at eight AM. The first portion of student speakers were volunteers from Samariteens, a program that offers a 24/7 hotline for depressed/suicidal/lonely teenagers. It was interesting, but not captivating enough to draw me away from the lines I was drawing on the back of my hand (I am not a good audience member, and I'm the first the admit it).
But then came the second portion.
First speaker: The sarcastic, wild, rugby-playing guy. Cracks a lot of jokes and says a lot of swears. He stood up in front of five hundred plus kids and talked about battling with an eating disorder his sophmore year, trying to make weight for wrestling. All of us five hundred plus students in the stands sat dead quiet. Some of us teared up. It was obvious that it wasn't easy for him to talk about it, let alone in front of two whole grades, but he did it anyways. And then an hour and a half later, he stood up and retold it. His bravery really made an impact, as did his story, and for that I am truly thankful.
Second speaker: Pretty fashionista who wears nice clothes and says nice things and hugs her little sister every time they met in the halls. She got up and talked about dealing with depression and family issues since she was eleven years old. No script, no lecture, no sob story. Just her story, her life, her triumphs and her sorrows. She was honest and open and sincere and she meant every single word she said.
Third speaker: A boy who blatently said, in the first sentence of his speech, "When I was in the eighth grade, I started becoming sexually attracted to guys." He talked about coming out to his parents and his peers (which was actually by accident, in English class) and he was so casual and collected when he spoke it was admirable. I especially loved the applause he received when he finished talking. I can hardly imagine what it must feel like to tell five hundred high school students, "I'm gay."
Fourth speaker: A girl who talked about her experiences with cutting. She was so incredibly brave, opening up about something considered taboo. So much braver than I ever could have been.
Fifth speaker: A girl who was frank and downright hilarious about being gay. She came out to her mother in the middle of a shopping mall. Her attitude is, "I don't see any reason to keep it a secret. If you're bothered by my sexuality, then I don't want you in my life anyways." She seemed like she really had it figured out, and she really doesn't care what other people think about her--and that is truly amazing. I cannot tell you how impressed I was by her speech.
If I sound annoyingly repetitive with my adjectives, I apologize. There are only so many ways I can describe that assembly. It was raw, it was real, it was relateable. It was emotional and honest and really quite beautiful and every single person said their piece with poise and purpose.
And powerful. Oh God, was it powerful.
