The Journal of Angela Ashby will be published Fall 2018 and I cannot wait to share it with you all. It is a Middle Grade novel with a target audience of 5th through 8th graders and has a theme of bullying intertwined with magical elements — a little unusual for me, but the story demanded to be magical. I look forward to sharing not only the full cover, but more about the book itself as we barrel toward the release date.

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Because of the frequency in which bullying appears in my work, I periodically research bully prevention techniques, statistics for how things are changing, such as less physical and more cyber bullying occurs today vs. in the past, and in my recent research, I ran across something that struck me as something we need to address to help change the bullying climate. The importance of NOT labeling. What a profound truth. Labeling is a way to try and put people in one box or another, and we’d all be better off if we simply accepted people for their individual uniqueness rather than attempting to label them. But that is a topic for another time. How does labeling relate to the situation with bullying?

When we talk about a kid who bullies others, we label them as “the bully”. When we talk about a kid who is being bullied, we label them “the victim”. Even looking up labeling, the first thing I ran across was the following definition: assign to a category, especially inaccurately or restrictively. “children were labeled as bullies” Once a label has been applied, our brains, which keep everything heard, said, or thought — even if we don’t remember it — tucks that label away and give us the impression that this is what and who we are. Especially with kids, when told they are a bully that label gets applied by their brain and they may feel they cannot change. This is what they are … a bully. This works the same way with the victim label. The word victim has all sorts of negative connotations associated with it. As a society, we have reached the point where we tend to blame the victim for allowing the situation to occur, rather than focusing on the behavior of the perpetrator. So not only does the person being bullied have to deal with the situation itself, but they also have to deal with the blame associated for allowing it to happen to them. NO ONE wants to be the victim. Again, as with the one bullying, when the label of victim is applied, the brain clings to it and we start to see ourselves in this light. And it can feel like there is no way to get out from under the label.

Labels such as these are inaccurate at best based on a specific situation. Once a kid has been deemed a bully, then it is easy to overlook when a different situation arises that they play a different role. Maybe instead of the bullier, they are the bullied, or perhaps trying to defend someone being bullied. It is the same with the victim — it may apply to a single circumstance and we become blinded by the label. I explore this situation in The Journal of Angela Ashby where Angela doesn’t like the school bullies and is intent on keeping her best friend from being bullied, but in the process becomes the bullier of those who bullied her friend. Labels also disregard other factors such as peer influence and the situational climate.

How do we get away from these labels which are damaging regardless of which is used? Focus on the behavior and not the person. Instead of calling a person a bully, refer to them as the person who bullied. Instead of referring to someone as the victim, refer to them as the person who was bullied. This takes the focus off the person and puts it on the situation and each person’s role in the specific situation. It isn’t a label your brain tries to hang onto for life.

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As I was getting ready to dive into my writing cave and block all else out, I ran across an article that intrigued and impressed me. It caught my attention because an 8-year-old girl, the same age as my protagonist, Timmy, has developed an anti-bullying bracelet. This I had to see … because I love the way kids minds work, AND bullying is the major theme in Timmy and the Golden Lion Tamarin. What I found was not one child who had followed the trail of what ifs to an amazing conclusion, but FOUR contest winners in the Make the Future contest. Plus, the bonus for me were the 18-year-olds who had won previously and knowing what they had developed. Some truly amazing stuff. Please check out the video below to see the kids and their inventions.

Now it’s time for me to go into stealth mode, become the writing hermit, and knock out another book for our Guardian Angel Animal series. I cannot wait until we can share these books with the world. I’ve put on my armor and I’m ready to dive in.

For photo credit go to Worth1000.com

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Photo: Credit KCSPresse / Splash News

When someone uses their celebrity to help address one of my pet issues, it makes me feel good. That they use their pull and tap into their fanbase to raise awareness about the issue, such as bullying, it gives me hope that something positive will come out of it. Lady Gaga made a point of meeting with President Obama after the suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer to discuss the bullying epidemic, which made me believe she was serious about making a difference. And sure enough, she is launching the Born This Way Foundation in conjunction with her mother, the MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment, and Berkman.

While there is not much to see yet about the Born This Way Foundation, you can sign up on the landing page. The tag line is Empowering Youth — Inspiring Bravery — both lofty goals. And the meat of the page:

THIS WAY, TOWARDS BRAVERY
WHERE YOUTH ARE EMPOWERED.
THIS WAY, TOWARDS ACCEPTANCE
WHERE HUMANITY IS EMBRACED.
THIS WAY, TOWARDS LOVE
WHERE INDIVIDUALITY IS ENCOURAGED.

Lady Gaga my hat is off to you. Keep up the good work.

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