To The Teenager Who Made Fun of My Daughter,

To the teenage girl who made fun of my daughter,

I would like to take a moment to talk about what happened the other day at the dance studio. The child you were staring and laughing at?  The girl you said you were “scared of” to all your friends?

That’s my daughter, Mira.

Your comments and laughter didn’t just hurt her; they hurt me, too. I understand that teenagers often don’t think about the impact of their words, but it’s essential to recognize that laughter at someone else’s expense can have lasting effects.

Mira is a remarkable kid. Like many eight-year-olds, she loves pink and wants to be a butterfly for Halloween. Mira loves to sing, perform, and come to this studio to dance just like you. Yes, she may look different, but she has overcome so much and worked incredibly hard to be there. That determination is something you really should admire.

I wonder if your views come from what you’ve been taught or the company you keep. I hope your parents would want you to be kind and understanding toward everyone, regardless of their differences.

Please think about how it feels to be laughed at for something beyond your control. I imagine at some point in your life, you were on the receiving end of some undeserved cruelty. I was a teenager once, too. While I understand you are not yet an adult, you are also not a little child. Making fun of someone half your age and half your size only shows how small of a person you are. Is that really who you are?

Instead of seeing differences as reasons to mock, I encourage you to see them as opportunities for connection. If you took the time to say hi and get to know Mira, I guarantee she would capture your heart. Instead, you chose to break hers and mine.

While you continued with your dance class and your day, I went home and cried in my backyard so Mira wouldn’t see how much I was hurting for her.

I’m sharing this not to shame you but to inspire reflection. We all have the power to choose kindness over cruelty. I hope you can learn from this experience and approach the world and my daughter with more empathy. I hope you always remember the look in my eyes when I, not so subtly, asked you why you said you were “scared” of my daughter. Really it’s me and all of the other moms with fire in their hearts that you should be afraid of.

I hope you will one day have the honor of becoming a mother. I hope you know the feeling of having your heart walk around outside of your body. I hope you do anything to change the world your children grow up in. I hope you have the privilege of loving someone as incredible as my daughter.

Her name is Mira.

With Love,

Mira’s Mom