The Life Journal of Alexandra Stanley
Calvary Christian Church - Lynnfield, MA
Hi, my name is Alexandra Stanley. I'm speaking because I want to make a difference in our generation by letting people know what it's like to be different, and when you're different it hurts. You may be saying to yourself "I know what's its like to be different", well you probably do know what it's like. For me to read this it's hard because what I'm going to share is something I will never forget. It has happened so many times. I'm not sure if you know what this feels like but I didn't have friends through elementary and middle school and you may be wondering why, well the reason why is because I was and still am in Special Education because I have a form of Autism. No one accepted me for who I was. I had a hard time thinking and processing things took me longer than other kids. I acted different than other kids. I tried to sit with other kids at lunch but was always pushed away because supposedly "that seat was saved". My parents fought for eight years to get me into the right school and during those eight years I attended four schools hoping they would be able to teach me the right education that I needed and in a way that I could understand it. People labeled me as a "retard" or a "sped" but that doesn't matter anymore because I'm only labeled by one person and that's God. He has labeled me as His precious child. As I went through school, I tried to ignore the negative comments especially the ones that were said to me in middle school. The kids weren't accepting me for who I was and it was hard to ignore that too because it happened every day. The thing that I find funny is that when ever someone told me I had issues I always said back to them "ya, I have issues but you also have issues of your own that you don't like talking about"; it always left them speechless. The thing that I never forgot was that there was already someone who would always accept me for me, no matter what I looked like or what kind of disability I had and his name is Jesus. I know he would never forsake me. I was born for a reason, so therefore I have a purpose in life no matter what everyone else thinks who don't like me because what they think and what the devil thinks is a straight lie from the pit of hell and the devil himself. I'm not going to let anyone, especially the devil try to stop me as long as I'm alive because as long as I'm alive I have God and the angels around me protecting me from anything evil that tries to get in my way. My parents spent over $35,000 fighting the city we live in to get me into a special needs school. To make a long story short, it was an act of God that opened the door to allow me to go to a wonderful school in Newton where "everybody is a somebody". I have been in this school now for four years and I love it. The reason why I love it is because I am friends with basically all the kids in the high school and the best part is that my counselor this year is a Christian. The best part about having my counselor is that I'm able to talk about things that other people don't understand and if she wasn't there I don't know what I would do. I want to thank her for that and for all that she has done for me. I noticed that when I log onto My Space, the kids from my previous school that made fun of me all the time, request me as a friend. Before I accept them as a friend, I always message them saying, "Why do you want to be friends with me now if you didn't want me as your friend before?" They usually message me back saying, "Well, you seem like a really cool kid," as if I wasn't before. Basically, the point I'm trying to get across is this: we are ALL equal no matter what. It doesn't matter what kind of disability or problem a person has, they can always make a difference in the world even if that person feels small or forgotten. As my mom would say, "YOU may be the only Jesus some people will ever see". So when you see someone at school that's in Special Ed, please reach out to them as Jesus would because they are probably going through the same thing as I went through. Thank you and God Bless you all. Alexandra Stanley