My eyes peered through the dirty window of the public school bus as it pulled into the parking lot.
The imposing, dirty edifice that loomed before me would be my school for the next year.
I had literally been thrown into what the government termed “Bussing” and it would forever effect not only my future, but my psyche.
The one thing that I had going for me, was that I was a survivor. I always have been, the circumstances of life had seen to that, from the onset of a very young age.
I learned very early on, that there would always be fear and that I would have to learn to do it afraid. Whatever the task at hand would be, I would have to forge on and do it afraid.
The noise jarred me from my thoughts as I was shuffled through a herd of loud jeers and taunts, “You are going to get it the last day of school and every day in between!” These were not empty threats. They were promises of impending judgment for crossing territorial lines.
My days would not be spent studying or learning. They would be spent surviving; literally surviving.
This was just the beginning of a year that would be spent avoiding guns, knives, fights and verbal abuse.
The proverbial “School of hard knocks,” was now my new reality and I would carry the lessons throughout my life.
The things and the people that I saw here would stay etched in my memory and I would use the lessons that I learned, to make a difference in other’s lives, for years to come…
An excerpt from ‘Bullying and overcoming its affects.’
Available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/amberhawkins
Author_4_U in Amber's Alley 