Hidden Talents

Jena, at 13, wrote the following account of the hidden talents she found living with abuse and standing up to her bully for a school talent show:

What is talent? Is talent dancing or singing? Is talent jump roping or is it gymnastics? Since I was young I have been confused and questioned what talent really is. I would think to myself, "am I talented because I can make up a dance to a song” or "am I talented because I can do a cartwheel?” The older I got the more I understood what my talent is and I found out talent lives inside of us. This year I meet someone in my class that has extreme amounts of talent and I am going to tell you a story about that girl.

She was born in June, 1998. Like most kids, she doesn't remember much of the first few years of her life. But unlike most kids, what she remembers is scary: loud voices, screams, things banging and crashes. She remembers hiding with her sister when her parents fought. She remembers crawling under the covers on her mom's bed with her mom and sister when things were breaking downstairs. Her mom always told her everything would be fine and dad was just stressed, mad, tired, hurting or whatever. But even at her young age the girl knew things weren't ok.

Finally, when the girl had just turned five, her life fell apart. Her dad became super crazy and her mom couldn't take it any more. Mom and the girls tried to get away but dad wouldn't let them. He would follow them; show up at their schools and work. Call them, send them things and harass them every chance he got. Then things got even worse. He told the courts the mom was sick, had a brain tumor and was dieing (it was a lie). He got visitation with the girls started to make their lives even more miserable. He told them mom was sick in the head, he said everything was mom's fault; he said he had a broken heart and needed it fixed. The girls felt sorry for him and tried to make him happy. He started doing weird things that didn't seem right but the girls just wanted to make up to him for all his hurt. He touched them and told them things that little girls aren't supposed to know. If they told anyone he would get really mad and do scary things like drive the car so fast they thought they would die. He would yell and break things, so the girls did what he said.

This went on for several years. The mom tried every way possible to help the girls but the dad lied to the courts, lied to social workers, and lied to everyone. He told the girls not to tell what he did or he would go to jail and it would be their fault. He said their mom would die and they would have to go to foster homes. He told them they had to visit him or they would go to jail. The girls were always scared and confused.

Now, you are probably wondering where the talent part comes in. Well, right about now. You see, bad things happen to good people all the time. It's what we do with these bad things that make the difference in who we are. We've all learned about what to do about bullies in DARE and GRIP. But what if you tell the right people and nothing happens? Do you give up? Do you get mad? Do you get even? Well, here is what one little girl did - she used her hidden talents.

• Strength - that's her first talent. She was strong. She didn't just quit, she didn't give up. She wasn't sure what to do but she was not going to let her bully get away with it.
• Perseverance - that is her next talent. She kept telling people - teachers, counselors, friends, anyone who would listen. The dad kept lying (and probably always will) but the more the girl told her story the more people believed her and the stronger she got.
• Bravery - her third talent. Bravery doesn't mean you are not scared, she definitely was afraid; it means you make a decision and do it despite being afraid. The little girl decided enough was enough and said good-bye to her dad. She knew he could still try to make her visit and hurt her, but by now she had told enough people that she felt a little bit safer and a whole lot stronger.
• Resiliency - another of her talents. What's that, you say? It's the ability to bounce back, to recover, to move on. This girl is full of resiliency. Sure, she still gets really mad sometimes, she has a hard time letting go of her fears, and certain things set of a horrible emotional rollercoaster. But she is getting better. Every day, every week, every month, she is bouncing back, recovering, moving on. Will she ever be the same - no way! She will be better. She understands what it means to have bad things happen. She talks about it so others won't be afraid to talk about their bad things. She has learned what her hidden talents are at a young age and will use them the rest of her life.

So what does all this mean? We all have talents. Whether it's singing or dancing, shooting hoops or playing the piano, bravery or resiliency. We just need to look inside ourselves and find our talents, believe in our talents and make the best of our talents.

And why do I know all this, because that little girl is me. I found my talents this year; I stood up to my bully and said "no more!” I have strength, perseverance, bravery and resiliency! So today, lets all celebrate all our talents, because today, we are all winners!!!

~ Jena Phillips, 2009

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