Michelle Icard is getting some serious kudos for her reaction to a conversation she overheard between “three very pretty, very boisterous, horribly behaved teenage girls“.
The American mum, who is author of parenting handbook Middle School Makeover, was sitting in her local Starbucks when the girls began discussing a list of topics that made her skin crawl.
“It took all my restraint to keep from exploding”
She took to Facebook to record her disdain:
“They were talking loudly so I could hear every word,” Icard said in an interview with WCNC. “I was physically bothered by it and I kept thinking, ‘this is gonna stop, one of them will say something to redeem themselves,’ and it never happened … and as I was listening to what they were saying I was growing more and more uncomfortable. They were verbally bashing another girl over popularity issues.”
She then went one step further …
Many of us would turn a blind eye if we heard such a discussion - but not because there isn’t PLENTY we’d want to tell those girls.
Michelle decided to give them a piece of her mind, but in a kinder way than you may think. She wrote a note. Quite a friendly note, considering.
It reads:
Hi Girls!
I sat near you today in Starbucks and listened as you talked. You three are obviously pretty and hard-working. I wish your kindness matched your pretty exteriors.
I heard you talk about a girl who sung about being lonely in the talent show - and you laughed. About a girl who couldn’t be lead singer because you got all the votes, about crappy presents other people have given you … and you sounded so mean and petty.
You are smart and you are pretty. It would take nothing from you to also be kind.
Go Michelle!
We are SO behind everything to do with this note. If only every young girl could see that being pretty on the inside will get them countlessly further in life than a pretty exterior.
And judging from other peoples’ reactions to her note, it seems Michelle voiced something that numerous mums of the internet have also thought.
One commenter wrote on Facebook, “I couldn’t help but admire what you did for these girls. I doubt any of them will forget, and I’m sure it’s made a positive difference.”
Another shared her own daughter’s mean girl struggles: “My daughter spent her high school years being bullied to the point that she attempted suicide. I pray these girls will take your note to heart but it seems this type of thing fuels them more! You did a great thing!”
The wake-up call they needed?
A former primary school bully shared: “In 3rd grade, ‘little me’ was in a bullying group of peers and was terribly mean to someone and got harshly reprimanded at school for it. It was a wake up to me to be nice to everyone and consider how hurtful our words can be! I’ll never forget the mean things I said and the punishment I faced. I hope this was a good wakeup call for these girls!”
While we all know teenage girls are a force to be reckoned with … they’ll never know how toxic they are being if it’s not pointed out to them.
We hope these three girls in question will think twice about their actions from this point on - and if not, we also hope that Catherine finds nicer friends.
