Everything’s buzzing right now. The sun’s out, the sky’s blue, suitcases are being packed and picnic hampers (or rucksacks) are being loaded with goodies to eat, games to play and books to read. As far as Teen Breathe is concerned, summer – apart from the pesky wasps who gatecrash the party – is bliss.
But should we need to think again? About the wasps, that is. Hard-working, family-minded and (mostly) stinger-free, wasps are not such a bad lot. It turns out we’ve prejudged them.
The truth is it’s easy to prejudge, especially when it comes to people – the quiet girl is deemed boring (she’s painfully shy); the loud girl is labelled annoying (she’s desperately insecure); the boy who refuses to play sports is a geek (he’s hiding body anxieties).
In a way, these assumptions save time. No hours are wasted getting to know someone you might not like much anyway. But it hurts them – and you. They can feel sad, frightened and isolated. You can miss out on new friendships, experiences and laughter.
Speaking of which, we need to pack the rounders bat in the Teen Breathe picnic rucksack. Happy summer days!
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